The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday said the country’s security situation remains peaceful despite a rise in election-related violence four days ahead of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BKSE) on Oct. 30.
The PNP said the number of validated election-related incidents (ERIs) climbed to 23 as of Thursday, with 29 more undergoing validation. Some 77 incidents were deemed unrelated to the polls.
“We will not be complacent. We are not ignoring these so we are strengthening our checkpoint operations and focused police and military operations to make sure that confirmed ERIs won’t increase,” PNP spokesperson Police Col. Jean Fajardo said in a radio interview.
Fajardo noted that the number of validated ERIs for this year’s BSKE is still lower than the 40 recorded in 2018.
The PNP official also said that of the 22 confirmed ERI’s, nine cases have been
filed before prosecutor’s offices, one case has been filed in court while 12 are still undergoing investigation.
The latest incident involved the gunning down of two poll bets and a supporter in Barangay Rosary Heights 12, Cotabato City on Monday.
Fajardo said close to 800 police officers have been deployed in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to augment security operations for the polls.
The total number includes 300 police officers to be assigned in Cotabato City following Monday’s incident.
Under the Commission on Elections (Comelec) classification, places under the red category are considered to be on the watchlist and need to be carefully monitored due to the presence of threats.
Green areas are those that are generally peaceful and orderly and have no cause for concern while yellow areas have a history of election-related incidents in the last polls and had been previously declared under Comelec control.
Orange areas are those that have an immediate security concern due to a serious armed threat.
Since the start of the election period on Aug. 28, Fajardo said the PNP has conducted intensified checkpoint operations supervised by local Comelec officers. A total of 1,393 firearms were seized from 1,785 arrested gun ban violators as of Oct. 24.
The PNP has also accepted 1,590 surrendered firearms and another 2,269 firearms deposited for safekeeping.
The election period for the BSKE started on Aug. 28 and will end on November 29.
The PNP is deploying 27,000 police personnel deployed across the country to secure the observance of All Saints and All Souls Day.
Fajardo said the PNP will be on full alert starting Friday for the All Saints Day holiday and the BSKE on Monday.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it is also on “heightened alert” from Oct. 25, Wednesday, to Nov. 5.
PCG chief Admiral Ronnie Gavan said PCG districts, stations, and sub-stations are set to implement stricter security measures in all ports across the country amid the expected influx of passengers.
Metro Manila police director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. urged his men to remain non-partisan and arrest election code violators, particularly those involved in vote buying, in connection with the village and youth council elections.
“Arrest those who violate the Election code, charge them, and pursue their cases in court. That is my order to all our police officers,” Nartatez said in a statement.
On Thursday, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) commended the men from Navotas City Police Station, Northern Police District, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and Election Commission officials who conducted an operation that resulted in the arrest of a woman engaged in vote-buying.
The woman was arrested at a warehouse in Barangay San Jose where the authorities found around 200 people assembled in front of a table with bundles of white envelopes.
Seized at the warehouse were a black bag containing 24 bundles of white envelopes, a laptop computer, and a box of cardboard containing papers indicating registered voters’ names, contact numbers, precinct numbers, photocopies of IDs, and a set of more than 1,000 envelopes containing P300 each.
The woman was placed under police custody and will be charged with violation of the Omnibus Election Code.
The NCRPO chief urged all candidates and stakeholders in the upcoming elections to exercise prudence and fair play.
With Election Day drawing near, the Comelec said it was 100 percent ready for the polls and encouraged citizens to cast their votes.
“All our schedules, timelines were followed. All the election paraphernalia, both accountable and non-accountable forms are already completed,” said Comelec Chairman George Garcia. “The training of teachers as Electoral Board members is completed.”
In preparation for the election on Monday, the commission has already activated its online precinct finder. The public is encouraged to check the precinct finder system to find their assigned polling place.
He said that on Election Day, voters must bring their voter’s ID or any valid proof of identification
A total of 672,016 positions are at stake in this year’s polls — 42,001 for barangay captains and 294,007 for members of Sangguniang Barangay. The same number of positions are at stake for the SK chairman and SK Council members.
The Comelec said there are 1,414,487 candidates in the BSKE — 96,962 for barangay captain, 731,682 for members of Sangguniang Barangay, 92,774 for Sangguniang Kabataan and 493,069 for SK council.
Garcia also assured teachers they would get their P10,000 honoraria for poll duty within 10 days of Election Day, shorter than the 15 days required by law.
The poll body raised the compensation for electoral board chairpersons from P6,000 to P10,000 and for board members from P5,000 to P9,000.
The poll body has also set aside funds for death benefits or cash assistance in case serving teachers are injured.
For areas with early voting hours, the Comelec will give the teachers an additional P2,000 across the board, Garcia said.
In other developments:
* Over 31,000 detainees are set to cast their votes in the BKSE through special polling centers, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said on Thursday. A BJMP spokesperson said detainees who are registered voters and whose cases are still pending and have not been resolved by the courts are allowed by law to vote.
* Rep. Wilbert T Lee of AGRI Partylist on Thursday urged voters to be more discerning and more demanding when voting for government officials if we want the country to change for the better. Lee, a former businessman, said the public should not just be content with getting the bare minimum service and should expect more from the government. He said just like any other elections, “the BSKE is an opportune time for the people to choose the best leaders.” – With Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz
