‘Early preparation leads to trouble-free polls’
ILOILO City – Police forces will stay in their assignments until all election paraphernalia are returned to their proper places, election results are completely transmitted and all security and safety concerns are attended to.
Police Regional Office 6 ( PRO6) has deployed over 12,000 personnel, including augmentation forces, to secure the casting of votes on Monday, said Regional Director, Brigadier General Flynn Dongbo, in a statement on Tuesday.
It said no major and electionrelated i ncidents ( ERI) were recorded during the conduct of the May 9 polls although 24 crime incidents were tallied but lower when compared with 125 and 62 incidents in the 2016 and 2019 polls, respectively.
The police official cited the early preparations and focused executions of various agencies under the Regional Joint Security Control Center ( RJSCC) for the peaceful conduct of elections in the region.
The good that we did this election in Region 6 is already part
of our history and good stories that will be inherited by the next generation). Your police in Western Visayas, i n partnership with
concerned government agencies, is committed to maintain Western Visayas a safer place to live, work and do business,” Dongbo said.
Colonel Adrian Acollador, director of t he I l oilo Police Provincial Office ( IPPO), i n a separate interview, said there were reports of massive vote-buying in Iloilo but there is no evidence to support the claims.
“We are still in the process of gathering ( pieces of ) evidence if ever there are witnesses that will surface or execute affidavit so we can have an airtight case in case we file,” he said.
There was one blotter report of vote-buying in the municipality of Mia-gao which the local police are now investigating.
An incident was also posted on social media in the town of Oton but there was no entry in the police blotter.
Acollador said pictures and videos taken during vote- buying can be used as evidence provided the one who took those will execute an affidavit instead of posting them on social media.
There was also one report of l i quor ban violation i n the municipality of Calinog on Monday evening.
“Overall with a zero electionrelated incident, this is one of the very peaceful elections we have,” the provincial police director added.