PTFoMS to establish media monitoring centers for BARMM polls

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — With less than a month before the historic Sept. 14 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) was directed to establish a media monitoring center (MMC) in the cities of Cotabato and Marawi.

Undersecretary Jose Torres Jr., PTFOMS executive director, said Executive Secretary Ralph Recto issued the order to establish the MMC “to look and ensure the safety and welfare of journalists covering the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“Media safety cannot be achieved by one institution alone. It requires collaboration, clear communication,  and a shared commitment to protecting journalist as they perform their duty to inform the public,” Torres quoted Recto as saying.

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READ: BARMM polls to proceed Sept. 14 despite official’s ambush — Palace

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Torres told the Inquirer his office had already coordinated with 103rd Infantry “Haribon” Brigade, based in Marawi City, for the establishment of the MMC there.

Army Maj. Candidato Paduman, 103rd IB Civil Military Operations officer, said they are still arranging things regarding the media monitoring center.

Mohd Asnin Pendatun, BARMM spokesperson, said the regional government is all set for the conduct of the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.

He called on BARMM voters to go out and cast their votes.

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At least 30 journalists from Northern Mindanao gathered here starting Wednesday for a three-day safety training and orientation for the BARMM elections.

The training workshop is organized by the Cagayan de Oro Press Club Journalism Institute in partnership with the PTFOMS, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, Smart Communications, and Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation. /das