THE Philippine Army is coordinating with the Philippine National Police (PNP) in identifying potential critical areas in upcoming midterm elections, a high ranking official of the command said on Monday.
“Our field commanders’ first role, especially the field commanders, are working with the Philippine National Police in identifying critical areas which have been identified by Comelec (Commission on Elections). Now, our role right now in the Army is to prepare the troops, to prepare our units to be able to support the PNP and the Comelec in this endeavor.” Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said in his briefing in Taguig City.
According to Galido, the deployment of troops is “going on smoothly” for the local and national elections.
“We’re working, establishing good working relationship with the Philippine National Police, not only the PNP, even those involved in the election preparation “ Galido added.
“The election success depends so much on how all of us will cooperate to make it peaceful,” he stressed.
Asked if how many soldiers will be deployed, Galido said;”All the Army is committed, the 115,000. All of us will be committed because we want this democratic exercise successful.”
“We might not be in the frontlines, we might be at the back, collecting information, sharing this information with concerned agencies for their appropriate action. But the whole Army is committed to make this election a successful one,” he ensured.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has deployed at least 18,000 personnel as the election campaign period began last week.
According to AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, the number may increase based on the PNP’s categorization of areas (e.g., red, orange, yellow zones).
Additional troops will be sent to areas with identified private armed groups classified as higher security risks.
The AFP emphasized its commitment to maintaining peace and enabling citizens to exercise their right to vote.