The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper
Police beef up security ahead of May polls
POLICE SAID it would work overtime to comply with the Department of the Interior and Local Government's (DILG) directive for law enforcers to further enhance visibility in light of the possibility of increased number of incidents related to the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on May 14.
“As ordered by the OIC, SILG (Secretary of Interior and Local Government) Eduardo Año, we will intensify the ongoing Comelec (Commission on Elections) checkpoints as well as police visibility in strategic locations within the election watch list of areas to prevent violence during the election period,” national police spokesman Chief Supt. John Bulalacao said. “Our personnel on the ground are well prepared and are implementing the prescribed security measures based on the peculiarities of their respective areas.”
The police, he said, is also closely coordinating with the military and have set up the Joint Security Control Center (JSCC) for the joint conduct of checkpoints in the country.
Out of the 5,744 election watch list areas (EWAS) in the country, some 3,448 vil- lages were identified as having intense rivalry between candidates, history of election-related violence, armed threats and partisan armed groups (PAGS).
Some 2,025 barangays also have intense rivalry between candidates, history of election related violence, PAGS but no armed threats. The remaining villages are classified as highly-critical areas where loose firearms and criminal gangs are prevalent. Bicol Region has the highest number of EWAS followed by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.