Headcount of prisoners in Eastern Visayas to prevent voter harassment

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—The regional police in Eastern Visayas will be conducting unscheduled visits to the various jails in the region for a prisoner headcount to make sure politicians don’t use any of them to harass voters in the coming elections.

“There is information that some of our inmates are being released and used by some candidates to sow fear among our people with the end of getting their votes,” said Senior Superintendent Manuel Cubillo, deputy director for operations of the Philippine National Police’s regional command in Region 8.

The unscheduled jail visits will be conducted during the election period from January 13 up to June 12, 2013, he said.

Cubillo said the visits, to be conducted by police personnel from regional headquarters in Campetic in Palo, Leyte, would ensure that no inmates are allowed outside jails unless released by a court order.

“We will conduct a headcount during the visit and ensure that they are really (physically) present,” he added.

Cubillo said that the officials in charge of the jails would be held answerable if the absence of a prisoner could not be legally justified.

The Philippine National Police in the region, headed by Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, has come up with several moves along with the Church and the Commission on Elections, among others, to counter any possible election-related violence.

These include the signing of a peace covenant among candidates in Samar province, considered to be one of the 15  election hot spots in the country; the  conduct of a unity walk and prayer rally and the setting up checkpoints to monitor the movements of the so-called private armed groups and proliferation of loose firearms.