CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Journalists from Lanao del Norte, the Zamboanga peninsula, and from this city completed a hostile environment and first aid training over the weekend in preparation for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections next month.

The training, held from September 5 to 7 at the 4th Infantry Division’s Camp Edilberto Evangelista in Patag, Cagayan de Oro City, combined lectures and simulation exercises involving risk evaluation and mitigation, weapons awareness, and basic first aid, among others.
The training kicked-off with a briefing on the October 13, 2025 BARMM elections, part of a larger series of media orientations organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU), in partnership with the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), and the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO).
COMELEC Spokesperson and Director IV Atty. John Rex Laudiangco underscored the importance of the media in ensuring credible elections.
“We have to inform approximately 2.3 million voters [in the BARMM], but COMELEC and BIO cannot do it alone,” he said.
“We need you, our media partners, in addressing challenges such as fake news, misinformation, and disinformation about the incoming election,” Laudiangco said.
PTFoMS executive director Joe Torres said safety trainings help foster a safety-first mindset among journalists whose work, he said, often bring them to high risk environments.
“This training is not only for you to be prepared, but also for you to safely inform the public,” Torres said.
The multi-day training was organized by the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) with funding support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation. (Henniequel Shayne G. Acobo)