Army to guard 164 insurgents-affected villages in Panay
Starting yesterday, Philippine Army troops in Panay were already placed on red alert status.
“We are on red alert in preparation for the incoming elections. This is in coordination with the Philippine National Police and, of course, with the Commission on Elections (Comelec),” said 301st Infantry Brigade commander B/Gen. Gerardo Layug.
With the said declaration, soldiers from the 301st IB’s three battalions will be placed on guard on Panay Island.
The troops will also be augmented by a company from the 3rd Infantry Division based in Camp Peralta, Jamindan Capiz.
This is on top of personnel from the Philippine Air Force and the and Engineering units in the area.
Particularly, Layug said that they would keep a tight watch on towns listed under election watchlist of areas category 2 or areas where there is presence of insurgents.
In Iloilo, Layug said that there are 11 towns with 55 rebel-affected barangays, Capiz with 103 barangays in 6 towns, and Antique 6 barangays with 4 towns.
Aklan was not included since the 3ID earlier declared it as insurgents-free.
Relatedly, 3ID public information officer 1Lt. Mark Andrew Posadas said that they would ensure cell sites and other transmission networks Western Visayas.
“We would do area patrols because there are quarters that might attack these cell sites to sabotage the elections,” he added.
Transmission sites are very important for the relay of messages since all votes cast at every precinct will automatically be counted by the PCOS machine at the closing of polls and the results will be transmitted electronically to the appropriate canvassing/consolidation centers, which will be a big departure from the past where the ballots and election returns from every precinct are transported physically to canvassing centers.
Meanwhile, Layug admitted that Mayor Restituto Mosqueda of Estancia, Iloilo asked for the deployment of soldiers in the area.
But the Army general said that it is something that needs the decision of the COMELEC and the PNP, with the Philippine Army.
“Although, hindi pa natin napag-uusapan as to how we will handle the situation in Estancia, the way I see it na kung mag-o-augment kami sa Estancia PNP, it will be in the form of area security as a deterrent for any party that may want to create trouble,” he added.
For now, there would also be no deployment of Army personnel in San Dionisio, Iloilo, since the police assured that they are on top of the situation.
Both Estancia and San Dionisio hugged the limelight due to intense political rivalry.
