FOR A PEACEFUL POLLS. A significant number of the Cordillera region's security forces from the PNP and the AFP have been deployed in Abra province, an election hotspot, to secure the ongoing mid-term polls. Abra is an election hotspot. (PNA file photo)
BAGUIO CITY -- A significant number of the Cordillera region's security forces from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been deployed in Abra province, an election hotspot, to secure the ongoing mid-term polls.
"It is expected that Abra will be given sufficient security personnel due to the historical record in the province and its current categorization as a category red hot spot by the Comelec en banc," Dexter Barry Cawis, Comelec Abra provincial election supervisor, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday.
There are 7,944 security personnel from the PNP and AFP who were deployed to the different provinces to perform election duties as early as one week before the elections.
A total of 1,944 are in Abra. They are composed of 1,259 policemen and 655 soldiers.
Several checkpoints have been established on choke points, entrances and exits in the entire province.
Colonel Alfredo Dangani, Abra provincial police director, in a phone interview said policemen and soldiers have been deployed to all areas that need security forces, which was also a request from different groups.
Dangani earlier reported that there were 10 validated election-related incidents recorded in Abra since the start of the election period.
There are also 10 validated incidents of vote buying, However, only the incident at Lagangilang town was formally filed before the Commission on Elections. (PNA)
