(FILE) NPA fighters.
TACLOBAN CITY – A top Army officer in Eastern Visayas has appealed to communist rebels to allow people in the region to exercise their right to vote on Monday, May 9.
Major Gen. Edgardo De Leon, the commanding general of the 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City, Samar, issued a statement in the wake of an attack staged by rebel members against soldiers who were on their way to Barangay Sag-od in Las Navas town, Northern Samar on Sunday at around 8 a.m.
On Sunday, the Army made air-drops of election information campaign materials to various parts of Northern Samar and Samar provinces with the aim of encouraging the voters to go out and vote in Monday’s elections.
Both the Army and the Philippine National Police in Eastern Visayas, headed by B/Gen. Bernard Banac, vowed that the conduct of balloting in the region, which has more than 3.1 million registered voters, would be peaceful and orderly.
About 10,000 policemen and 6,000 soldiers were deployed across the region for elections-related duties.