READY FOR MAY POLLS.
Col. Julius Cruz, one of the chaplains of the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO 7), blesses security personnel, including military and Philippine Coast Guard officers, who will be deployed in various parts of the region to help secure voting areas during the May 9, 2022 elections. Around 2,000 security personnel were given a send-off ceremony at the South Road Properties in Cebu City on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
MORE than 2,000 police and military personnel will be assigned in various areas in Central Visayas to provide security to voters during the national and local 2022 polls on Monday, May 9, 2022.
Local police, military personnel and even personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) were given a proper “send-off ceremony” by their commanding officers and election officials on Wednesday morning, May 4, 2022.
Of the 2,000 security personnel to be deployed for the elections, around 1,621 are from the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO 7).
Of the 1,621 police, at least 829 will be assigned in Bohol; 402 in Cebu; 172 in Negros Oriental and 36 in Siquijor. Around 182 police officers will also be on standby in case of emergencies.
Aside from manpower, the PRO 7 will also deploy its patrol cars, ambulances and trucks.
Police Brigadier Gen. Roque Eduardo Vega, PRO 7 director, told reporters that their deployment is part of a nationwide order to all police officers by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Dionardo Carlos.
Aside from Vega, those who witnessed the send-off ceremony were Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 Director Dennis Ausan, Department of Education 7 Director Salustiano Jimenez, PCG Central Visayas district commander Commodore Inocencio Rosario Jr.; Colonel Jerry Borja, Joint Task Group Cebu commander; and Police Col. Antonietto Cañete and PRO 7 Area Police chief.
No power outage
Meanwhile, officials of the Visayan Electric Company have assured that they will implement various measures to ensure that power supply in their franchise areas in Cebu will remain uninterruptable during the May 9 elections.
Quennie Sanchez-Bronce, Visayan Electric’s reputation manager, said on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, that they will deploy all of their standby crews in case a power outage occurs in one of their franchise areas while in the middle of the elections.
They will also address electrical problems in polling places that might result in power outages during the voting and canvassing process.
Bronce added that they will conduct inspections on power lines that were recently restored after Typhoon Odette (Rai) to make sure that they remain stable.