SECURING ELECTIONS. Officials from the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fire Protection discuss security measures during the third quarter Visayas Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center at PCG-Central Visayas headquarters in Cebu City on Tuesday (Oct. 24, 2023). Visayas Command chief, Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, said 17,463 soldiers will secure polling places in the three regions of the Visayas. (Photo courtesy of Viscom PIO)
CEBU CITY – A total of 17,463 soldiers will secure the communities and polling places during the conduct of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in the three regions of the Visayas on Monday.
Of the 17,463 soldiers, 5,866 have been deployed to Western Visayas, 5,356 to Central Visayas and 6,241 to Eastern Visayas, Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, chief of the Visayas Command, said on Wednesday.
Arevalo said while they are hoping for the best, they are prepared for the worst.
"Our security effort was conceptualized not because we foresee an imminent threat but because we wanted to ensure that the upcoming electoral process will succeed,” Arevalo said in a statement.
The over 17,000 soldiers – composed of officers, enlisted personnel and members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU)– deployed for election duties, “would boost the confidence of our people to come out and cast their votes out of their own free will and not because they are intimidated or threatened by the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) or any threat groups,” he added.
About half of them will sustain the focused military operations in the outskirt communities in the region to prevent the CPP-NPA from perpetrating atrocities that might disrupt the electoral process in these areas.
The remaining half will augment the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard in securing the polling centers, movement and transport of election paraphernalia, and sustaining the conduct of Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoints in the urban areas.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Israel Galorio, Viscom spokesperson, said they have not monitored imminent threats in the upcoming elections.
“Deploying our soldiers will ensure a successful BSKE and encourage our electors to vote freely and without fear,” Galorio told the Philippine News Agency.
Meanwhile, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 (Central Visayas) advised Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan bets not to give in to the New People’s Army’s extortion activities, requiring them to secure a “permit to campaign” and “permit to win.”
Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Central Visayas Joint Security Coordinating Center, said they are monitoring the provinces of Negros Oriental and Bohol where extortion incidents had been reported during the past elections.
“In previous elections, we have reports (of extortion). We have already proactively deployed our police personnel together with the military personnel to make sure that NPA extortion won’t happen again this BSKE,” Pelare said.
The police in the region has also intensified the Comelec’s “Oplan Kontra Bigay” program to apprehend candidates who engage in vote buying and voters who sell their votes.
“There will be a committee in each municipality and city to be headed by the election officer and the police will conduct police operations against vote selling and vote buying,” Pelare added. (PNA)
