Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Sunday ordered the country's military and police to keep strict neutrality in the local elections of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in southwestern Mindanao on Monday.

"The Armed Forces and the National Police will be there to safeguard the vote, with strict instructions to be non-partisan and fair," Arroyo said in a statement.

Arroyo made the order as the country is due to hold its first election since the presidential election in May last year, in which she was accused of vote rigging by her opponents.

Arroyo also urged ARMM residents to vote on Monday saying an " enlightened democratic choice" is key to pursuing permanent peace in the strife-torn Mindanao.

ARMM, which covers six provinces in southwestern Mindanao, will elect its new governor and some 24 local assembly members in Monday's election.

The autonomous region was created in 1996 after the government and Muslim insurgents reached a peace deal. But renewed fighting took place early this year between government forces and Muslim rebels loyal to jailed Muslim leader Nur Misuari, who is charged by the government of rebellion.

"Let us have an election that is free from goons, guns, and gold -one that will strengthen autonomy, reject extremism, bring pride to our people and result in the election of leaders who will bring the ARMM to new horizons of peace and prosperity," she said.

The Arroyo administration has been shaken by a revelation in June of a wiretapped conversation between Arroyo and a former elections commissioner during last year's election, in which Arroyo allegedly asked the latter to help her win the election with a margin of 1 million votes.

Four senior military officials were also mentioned in the tape and are now under investigation.

Meanwhile, the military Sunday said it would "redeem" itself from the controversy involving some of its senior officials in last year's electoral fraud by staying neutral in the ARMM election.

"We cannot afford to fail in this operation," said Ben Dolonfino, commander of the military's Task Force Honest, Orderly, and Peaceful Elections (Hope) which is tasked by Arroyo to oversee the security of the ARMM election.

Three of the generals, including the next-on-line Army chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon, allegedly cheated in favor of Arroyo in the voting in Mindanao, while a fourth general backed the candidacy of the late movie star and opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

The military's Southern Command has declared the highest security status, the red alert, since Saturday in ARMM with about 3,000 military personnel deployed to safeguard the polls, after the military identified some 150 "hot spots" where incidents are likely to occur.

The military accused the Abu Sayyaf group of staging two bombing attacks at the compound of ARRM government in Cotabato City and a supermarket in Koronadal City on July 30.

Four people were injured in the attacks, which the military said were apparently aimed at distracting its attention from an ongoing offensive against Abu Sayyaf chief Kadhafy Janjalani in ARMM region.

Source: Xinhua