MANILA, Philippines — Over 4,000 trained police officers are on standby to serve as election inspectors in certain areas and regions nationwide for the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.
PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said 4,429 police personnel are stationed in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Northern Mindanao, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), and Bicol region in case designated election officers decide not to serve on October 30 for security reasons.
“Not that these areas are perennial election flash points, but some of the parameters for the classification of election areas are present in these localities, such as the presence of threat groups, historical data of election-related incidents and intense political rivalry; and presence of organized crime and partisan armed groups,” Acorda said in a press conference.
Acorda added that that the police force has identified 356 barangays under the red category or areas of grave concern, 1,325 under orange, and 1,196 under yellow of the 42,001 areas across the country.
“So far, no significant untoward incidents have been reported except for isolated reports of a shortage of public utility vehicles serving public conveyance commuters in certain routes. Overall, the situation remains normal even as large capacity vehicles of government agencies were fielded strategically to provide free rides to stranded commuters,” he said.
Over 1,400 gun ban violators arrested
Acorda also reported that since August 28, the PNP has conducted 251,592 checkpoint operations supervised by local Commission on Elections (Comelec) officers – with a daily average of 5,800 checkpoint operations performed nationwide by police personnel and operatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard.
He added that these operations have resulted in the arrest of 1,479 gun ban violators and the confiscation of 1,103 firearms as of October 15.
Acorda said some individuals with expired licenses or unlicensed firearms also surrendered 995 firearms, while others turned over 1,905 guns for safekeeping.
The PNP earlier warned that arrested individuals would be charged for violating the provision in the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits the unauthorized carrying or transporting of firearms and deadly weapons outside residences, businesses, and public places.
The gun ban will be in effect until November 29.