30 journalists to undergo safety training ahead of BARMM polls

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 12 August 2026) — Around 30 journalists from across Northern Mindanao who are covering the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections will undergo a three-day safety training here next week.

Journalists kneel on the ground as ‘gunmen’ detain their convoy during a simulation exercise during the media safety training held in Camp Evengelista, Cagayan de Oro City in September 2025. MindaNews file photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

The inaugural parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 14 across five provinces and three cities, and one Special Geographic Area in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Journalists from various community newspapers and radio stations will attend the training at Camp Evangelista, headquarters of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Barangay Patag.

“Our collective memory of what happened in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre is still fresh in our minds. This is the reason why we took the lead in organizing this training,” said Dr. Manuel Jaudian, executive director of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club Journalism Institute.

Jaudian said the training — which includes simulations of journalists being kidnapped and ambushed — will help participants navigate the hostile election environment in the BARMM, an area considered one of the most volatile in the country.

He added that journalists will learn to administer first aid to injured colleagues and perform medical evacuations during tactical combat casualty care simulations.

Jaudian said Army instructors and journalist safety trainers will provide technical expertise to participants during the three-day program.

“We are providing all of this for free to the journalists, including free board and lodging for the 30 participants,” he said.

Jaudian stated that Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation provided financial support to the Cagayan de Oro Press Club Journalism Institute, which has held annual media safety trainings since 2018.

He added that the Journalism Institute also partnered with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS), the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, and Smart Communications.

Allan Mediante, Journalism Institute training director, said OPAPRU provided lecturers give participants with updates on the peace process between the government and the various Moro rebel groups, notably the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“These updates will provide journalists with the proper context for the BARMM elections,” Mediante said.

He added that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will also brief participating journalists on the BARMM electoral process. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)