CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Some 832 police personnel will be deployed in the Northern Mindanao region for the security of the Smartmatic's Vote Counting Machines (VCMs).
In an interview Tuesday, Col. Michelle Olaivar, the Police Regional Office–Northern Mindanao (PRO -10) spokesperson, said the personnel assigned to secure the VCMs will not only cover the travel routes but also the security of storage hubs.
Other election paraphernalia are also included in their mandate on security and protection, she said.
"We have 552 personnel assigned in convoys and 280 delegated in the (storage and voting precinct) hubs," Olaivar said. "If there are more security concerns, there will be additional personnel who will be deployed."
Other police personnel, she said, are assigned to traffic enforcement, including airports and seaports where VCMs are expected to arrive.
On Monday, city election officer Rowell Valledor said the arrival of VCMs here has no fixed date yet.
However, Valledor said it will likely be around the last week of April or the first week of May.
"Definitely (the VCMs for Cagayan de Oro City) will not go below 532 in number, and we have more or less 50 machines as backup," Valledor said. (PNA)
