Soccsksargen cops under heightened alert in run up to May 13 polls

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Police Regional Office-12 (PRO12) said Thursday it has placed all police units in the area under heightened alert in preparation for the May 13 local and national midterm elections.

Brig. Gen. Eliseo Tam Rasco, PRO-12 regional director, said the move is in line with the comprehensive security plan adopted to ensure the "smooth, peaceful and orderly conduct" of the elections throughout Region 12 (Soccsksargen).

Rasco said the security measures include the deployment of personnel in polling centers, precincts, and other strategic areas.

"All preparations in terms of security is now in place and we considered all possible threats and untoward incidents that might happen," he said in a statement.

Rasco said PRO-12 has been regularly coordinating with other law enforcement units and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the security operations--especially in the remote areas.

The security arrangements with the AFP was finalized during the third coordinating conference here on Tuesday by members of the Regional Joint Security Control Center (RJSCC).

RJSCC is composed of the PRO-12, AFP, the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Department of Education, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Rasco said the final

coordinating conference was joined by representatives from the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Marbel and F2 Logistics, the official courier of election materials and equipment.

He said among those finalized were the plan of actions of RJSCC members during and after the conduct of the elections.

The official said F2 Logistics presented its shipment plan for the election paraphernalia and the security requirements.

Comelec also identified this city as the main hub for the region of the vote counting machines and other related equipment. Election materials already started arriving at the treasurer’s office last April 15 for safekeeping and will be released before the election day, Rasco added.

PRO-12 has not released a list of potential hotspots in the region but noted that it is closely monitoring several areas because of previous cases of election-related violence, intense political rivalry, and presence of armed elements.

Comelec earlier declared the entire Mindanao as a hotspot or under the red category in line with the May 13 elections.