WV police in aggressive operations for peaceful polls
The police in Western Visayas is adopting a proactive stance in conducting security operations to ensure public safety during the election period from September 25 to November 10.
Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, police regional director, said although the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections are just a local political exercise, it is still possible that candidates and other political groups will use armed groups to advance their interests.
“Local communist terrorists may use the elections to install their candidates through threat, intimidation or even liquidation,” Pagdilao said.
The Police Regional Office 6 has in its watch list seven dormant private armed groups – four in Iloilo, one in Negros Occidental and two in Antique.
Pagdilao said the barangay and SK elections is just as important as choosing the country’s president and therefore, the police in Western Visayas must ensure that its conduct will be peaceful and orderly and its result, credible.
He said he told his commanders to ensure that the interest of the community reigns supreme in choosing their barangay and SK officials.
Voters should not give in to the will of political patrons of some candidates and the intimidation of partisan armed groups who want to undermine democracy by influencing the results of the elections, he added.
To thwart possible threats, Pagdilao said he directed all provincial and city police directors to conduct aggressive public safety and security operations.
Subordinate commanders were also told to closely coordinate with their respective provincial and city Commission of Elections officials in the implementation of election rules, he said.
We want to ensure that the COMELEC rules and regulations on bearing, carrying or transporting of firearms, and the prohibition on illegal bodyguards for candidates and other similar rules are properly observed and enforced, he said.
PRO6 records show that election-related violent incidents in Western Visayas during the last national and local elections reached 24, 10 of which occurred in Iloilo province.
In the 2007 barangay and SK elections, nine incidents were recorded.
Pagdilao said the October 25 polls is “expected to become a proxy war of politicians despite its non-partisan nature.”
It surely will attract political interventions as politicians gearing for the mid-term elections in 2013 will try to establish political influence at the barangay level, he added.
‘Serious Armed Threats’
Meanwhile, the COMELEC said yesterday it is ready to take control of areas where there are “serious armed threats” to ensure a peacefully and orderly polls.
In its Resolution 9042, the commission en banc said they are prepared to take control of areas with armed threats, including paramilitary forces, private armies or identifiable armed bands.
“The Commission may place under its immediate and direct control, any political division, subdivision, unit or area affected by serious armed threats,” the resolution said.
However, the poll body has yet to identify election hotspots or areas of concern for the forthcoming barangay and SK elections.
In the last May 2010 elections, the areas that were placed under Comelec control were the provinces of Abra, Nueva Ecija, Davao, Maguindanao, Zamboanga del Sur, some towns in Masbate and Bacoor in Cavite.
Once the COMELEC declares an area under its control, the commission will exercise full control and supervision over all national and local law enforcement agencies as well as military officers and men assigned or deployed in such area.
A Special Task Force will also be created to ensure the conduct of free, peaceful, orderly, honest and credible elections in the areas.
It will be composed of the highest COMELEC official in the political subdivision, as Task Force head, and as members, the highest-ranking official of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, assigned in the aforesaid area.
The COMELEC control will be in full force and in effect until the end of the
election period, or unless earlier lifted by the poll body.*
