CHECKPOINTS SET UP AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

Police are manning the entry and exit points of Cebu City’s mountain barangays following the reported presence of hundreds of armed men in Barangay Agsungot.

The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) implemented checkpoints in different parts of the city following reports that a hundred armed men were sighted in the mountain barangay of Agsungot.

CCPO Director Joel Doria said the police are verifying the report.

“We conducted checkpoints to guard the entry and exit points in the mountain barangays,” he said.

“We already gave a directive to the station commanders, especially those covering the mountain barangays, to intensify their intelligence-gathering and their checkpoints,” he added.

CCPO has not recommended any poll hotspot areas in the city, but will continue to conduct anti-drug and anti-criminality operations before Monday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña, for his part, believes that the suspicious individuals reportedly seen in the mountain villages were linked to opposition Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr.

“I believe it’s the operation of Alcover. He’s trying to intimidate. Many of them will do anything because they don’t have moral values. Their standards are very low,” he told reporters.

Alcover is a resident of the barangay. His daughter-in-law, Noli Anne Alcover, is seeking reelection as Agsungot village chief.

Sought for comment on Osmeña’s pronouncement, Councilor Alcover challenged the mayor to call for the immediate arrest of the alleged goons in Agsungot.

An unidentified man was also reportedly seen roaming around Barangay Sudlon II on Thursday night. /