Police on full alert for coming village polls

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The 148,000-strong police force went on full alert nationwide this morning in preparation for the nationwide village polls next Monday, a senior government official said.

Philippines' Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Philippine National Police (PNP) raised the alert status at 6:00 a.m. local time today. It is reported that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also went on full alert the same day.

The full alert status requires the PNP to assign a minimum of two policemen for every one of the almost 37,000 voting centers that will be used next Monday.

According to Valte, from Sept. 28, the start of the election period, to Oct. 24, there were already 51 election-related incidents that the police monitored with at least 22 people killed.

The latest figures of election-related incidents and number of fatalities this year were higher compared to the 2010 village polls with 25 election-related incidents and 15 deaths all throughout the election period from Sept. 25 to Nov. 10, 2010.