SEND-OFF. The joint security council of the National and Local Elections in the Cordillera Administrative sends off security personnel for the region on Wednesday (May 4, 2022) in a ceremony in Benguet province. The security personnel will ensure peaceful, honest, and orderly polls. (PNA photo from OCD-CAR FB)
BAGUIO CITY – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Cordillera region on Wednesday led the simultaneous send-off ceremony for more than 8,000 security personnel from the military and the police serving in the 2022 national and local elections.
In a message to the Philippine News Agency, Capt. Marnie Abellanida, Police Regional Office-Cordillera (PROCor) director, said the send-off ceremony was held at the police regional headquarters at Camp Dangwa, attended by Comelec-Cordillera director Ederlino Tabilas.
Tabilas heads the regional joint security task group of the region that makes sure that the May 9 elections are safe, orderly, and honest.
The list provided by Abellanida showed a total of 8,125 personnel in the security force will be deployed for the elections in the region, with 5,529 of them deployed on Wednesday.
Performing the election duty in Abra are 980 personnel; Apayao, 474; Baguio City, 648; Benguet, 979; Ifugao, 927; Kalinga, 560; Mountain Province with 550; and 411 at the Regional Mobile Force Battalion.
The more than 2,000 remaining personnel will be on standby in case they are needed.
A separate list provided to the media showed that of the 8,125 security personnel, 1,078 are police officers.
The personnel were divided and will be charged to man the election monitoring advisory center and the tactical operations center at the regional office and the provincial offices, polling precincts, detail to Comelec personnel and facilities, transmission servers, telecommunication sites, and canvassing areas.
Some will also be part of the quick response teams (QRT) and at the checkpoints.
Also present during the send-off was PROCor Regional Director, Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee, Office of Civil Defense director Albert Mogol, Brig. Gen. Khrisnamurti Mortella of the 702nd Brigade, and Brig. Gen. Santiago Enginco of the 503rd Brigade of the Philippine Army.
Abellanida shared the common message of the officials present during the send-off for the security personnel to “be impartial, secure the people and result of the election.” (PNA)
