Proactive measures make for secure BSKE, Comelec tells CV police

CEBU CITY – The top election officer in Central Visayas on Monday said the police should adopt a more proactive measure to ensure a safe and peaceful Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (BSKE) elections amid shooting incidents prior to the Oct. 19 to 28 campaign period.

Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Commission on Elections (Comelec-7) regional director, said the police are yet to release the result of their investigations to determine if the shooting incidents in Balamban, Cebu and in Buenavista, Bohol are election-related.

“But initial info is the motive is unlikely election-related… I have asked them to be more proactive in their security arrangements,” Castillano told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

In response, Police Regional Office-7 chief, Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin visited Bohol over the weekend to conduct a command conference following the fatal shooting of Buenavista municipal councilor Danny Añora by a motorcycle-riding assailant.

“I am encouraging the local chief executives in Bohol to enact ordinances in their municipalities to require business establishments to install CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras. In this way, you are helping the police solve crimes faster,” Aberin said in a video message, adding  Añora’s could be solved faster with video footage.

Although Añora was not a candidate when he was shot, the police said he was heading home to Barangay Dait Norte, which was previously listed as hotly contested village in Buenavista town.

In Balamban, Cebu, Anastacio Pacquiao, a candidate for barangay chairperson in Cansomoroy, was gunned down while riding his motorcycle.

Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of Aberin, said the Regional Joint Security Control Center chaired by Castillano himself has recommended more extensive Comelec checkpoints to deter crimes from happening.

“But rest assured that Central Visayas is generally peaceful. In fact, the index crime in the region is down,” Pelare told reporters. (PNA)