Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil has ordered all police commanders to go down to the communities three days before the May 12 polls to prevent possible vote-buying.
Marbil said the PNP supports the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) anti-vote buying initiatives, including “Kontra Bigay,” in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision for clean, honest and fair elections.
“We will support Comelec against vote-buying. There will be no vote-buying. Ito kailangan natin gawin (We need to do it) three days before the elections. Let us go and supervise,” Marbil said during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
“The PNP reaffirms its commitment to safeguarding the people’s will and upholding democracy as the nation moves closer to election day.”
Marbil assured the public of the PNP’s full readiness to secure the upcoming polls, saying personnel, mobility assets and logistical resources are already in place.
He earlier said the entire PNP will be under full alert status May 3 to 15.
Under a full alert status, police officers are not allowed to go on leave to ensure sufficient deployment.
Marbil added that the entire PNP remains strictly apolitical during the election period.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office-Central Luzon (PRO-3) reported the arrest of 356 individuals for violating the gun ban from Jan. 12 to May 4.
In a statement, PRO-3 Director Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said among those arrested are four from the military, seven security guards, one police officer and an elected official. The rest were civilians.
Fajardo said 1,300 individuals voluntarily deposited their weapons while 273 surrendered their unlicensed firearms.
“Ang kampanyang ito ay hindi lamang para sa gun ban kundi para sa pangmatagalang kapayapaan sa rehiyon (This campaign is not only for (election) gun ban but for lasting peace in the region),” she said.
16.4K Army soldiers deployed for poll duty
The Philippine Army (PA) on Monday announced that it has deployed 16,489 personnel to help man 661 Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police-Commission on Elections(AFP-PNP-Comelec) and 63,663 polling precincts all over the country.
These figures are as of May 4, PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said in a statement.
A total of 6,712 PArmy officers, enlisted personnel, CAFGU Active Auxilliaries members, and reservists are deployed to assist in election checkpoints, while 9,777 Army personnel are deployed to secure polling centers nationwide.
Moreover, 12,377 Army personnel are placed on standby alert for possible augmentation.
“The deployment of Army personnel is part of the wider inter-agency coordination among the AFP, Comelec, and PNP to preempt and neutralize any threats of violence, intimidation, or electoral sabotage,” Dema-ala said.
He also the PA also conducted extensive briefings for all deployed personnel on their legal mandate and the specific guidelines outlined in the approved Philippine Army Guidelines (PAG) based on the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines for the coming elections on May 12.
“Our troops have undergone rigorous orientation on their roles during this critical democratic exercise,” PA chief Lt.Gen. Roy Galido said.(with Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
