SENDOFF The Philippine Army holds a send-off ceremony on Thursday of soldiers from 62nd Infantry “Unifier” Battalion based in Isabela, Negros Occidental, who will be deployed to different areas in Central Negros for elections duties on Oct. 30. —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARMY’S 62ND INFANTRY BATTALION
CEBU CITY—A total of 17,463 soldiers have been deployed in the three regions of Visayas to help ensure a peaceful and orderly barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30.
The deployed troops, who would augment the police officers already in place in these regions, were instructed to prevent different groups from sowing violence during the twin polls, said Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, chief of the Visayas Command (Viscom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Of the number, 5,866 were sent to Western Visayas, 5,356 to Central Visayas and 6,241 to Eastern Visayas, Arevalo said.
“Our security effort was conceptualized not because we foresee an imminent threat but because we wanted to ensure that the upcoming electoral process will succeed,” Arevalo said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The over 17,000 soldiers—composed of officers, enlisted personnel and members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu)—deployed for election duties, would boost the confidence of our people to come out and cast their votes out of their own free will and not because they are intimidated or threatened by the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) or any threat groups,” he added.
About half of the soldiers would sustain the focused military operations in the outskirt communities in the region to prevent the CPP-NPA from perpetrating atrocities that might disrupt the electoral process in these areas, added Arevalo.
He said the remaining half would augment the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard in securing the polling centers, movement and transport of election paraphernalia and sustaining the conduct of Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoints in the urban areas.
The soldiers will help 11,000 police officers in Eastern Visayas, 12,486 PNP personnel in Western Visayas and 9,200 in Central Visayas.
Areas monitored
Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Central Visayas Joint Security Coordinating Center, said they were monitoring the provinces of Negros Oriental and Bohol where extortion incidents had been reported during the past elections.
“In previous elections, we have reports [of extortion]. We have already proactively deployed our police personnel together with the military personnel to make sure that NPA extortion won’t happen again this BSKE,” Pelare said.
The police in the region have also intensified the Comelec’s “Oplan Kontra Bigay” program to apprehend candidates who engage in vote buying and voters who sell their votes.
“There will be a committee in each municipality and city to be headed by the election officer, and the police will conduct police operations against vote selling and vote buying,” Pelare said.
At least 162 loose firearms and three explosives were seized in Central Visayas during the four-day regionwide simultaneous anticriminality law enforcement operations from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24 that led to the arrest of 27 individuals.
Most of the firearms were seized in Comelec checkpoints; by those serving search warrants; and during buy-bust operations, “Oplan Katok” and police patrols, said Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas.
“There will be no letup in our operations against all forms of criminality in order to ensure a safe and secured electoral exercise come Oct. 30,” Aberin said.
Police Brig. Gen. Reynaldo Pawid, director of the Eastern Visayas police, reminded police officers in the region to be on guard at all times, adding that “the deployment of police officers is meant to ensure that the conduct of the barangay and SK balloting in the region will be peaceful both for the candidates and the voters.”
Lawyer Dennis Ausan, Comelec director in Western Visayas, said security personnel should perform within the bounds of their office, serve as the real law enforcement officers and observe the rules and regulations the commission has laid down for them.
Another shooting
In Luzon’s Quezon province, Comelec officials were investigating if the shooting and wounding on Thursday night of a village official running for barangay chair in General Luna town was election-related.
“It’s unfortunate because in just two days, it’s already election day … we could no longer distinguish whether it is election related, but what is important now is that the police remain on alert,” Comelec Chair George Garcia told reporters on Friday.
According to a police report, Ruben Ilagan, 63, a councilor of Barangay Malaya, was shot four times in the chest by two assailants as he was walking home near the barangay hall at 9:20 p.m. after attending a meeting.
READ: BSKE 2023: 187,600 cops deployed; PNP on full alert Saturday
The Quezon Police Provincial Office was still to determine if the incident was related to the Oct. 30 elections but has provided security to Ilagan at the hospital where he is confined.
Last week, Catalini Turalba Sr., 52, a village councilor candidate of Barangay Bangbangcag in Bucay town, Abra province, was shot dead by two gunmen on motorcycle.