PNP ready to secure special elections

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is ready to provide security during the special elections on May 14.

The PNP noted the Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared 52 areas in the country will have special elections on Saturday, involving 17,657 voters.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor said the special elections would be held in some areas in Western, Central and Eastern Visayas where the Comelec declared a failure of elections.

Mayor said some police officers will also be deployed as special board of election inspectors (SBEIs) in areas where regular BEIs did not show up for fear of their lives.

Mayor said they would still coordinate with the Comelec on the specific deployment of policemen as SBEIs.

Mayor said there were areas that held no elections last Monday due to security concerns, thus necessitating the deployment of additional police forces.

Among the areas with security concerns are Northern and Western Samar, Lanao del Sur and Sulu.

The Comelec yesterday declared a failure of elections in three more barangays in Maguindanao, Agusan del Sur and Negros Occidental, involving 1,679 voters.

These are barangays Katuli in Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao; Binucayan in Loreto, Agusan del Sur; and Palayog in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental.

Comelec said no elections were held in five precincts in Binucayan due to lack of 291 official ballots while ballots for four precincts in Palayog were “misdelivered.”

In Katuli, the ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia for four precincts were taken by unidentified men during election day.

The Comelec had set special elections in these barangays on Saturday.

The PNP, on the other hand, has started to lower the level of alert as the situation returns to normal after election day.

Policemen were ordered to secure the 92,000 polling precincts to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections.

The military also downgraded its alert level with most of the troops returning to internal security operations.

Acting Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Lt. Gen. Glorioso Miranda, however, said soldiers will continue to be deployed for poll duties in areas where a failure of elections was declared and special elections are scheduled tomorrow. –