Comelec wants more cops, soldiers in 3 barangays

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has asked the Phiilppine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to deploy more men in three barangays in Quezon City, Manila and Parañaque for the Oct. 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.

Officials from the poll body and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), however, said there are neither areas of concern nor election hot spots in Metro Manila.

Comelec NCR director Michael Dioneda identified these areas as the Santiago Elementary School in Barangay 648 in Manila, Barangay Sienna in Quezon City and Baclaran in Parañaque.

“We received requests for augmentation in these areas. I’ll be meeting with my counterpart in the PNP and the AFP to discuss this,” Dioneda told The STAR.

He said in Barangay Sienna, the competition is stiff because almost the “same parties” who ran in 2007 polls are seeking elective posts this year. Comelec field officials fear this may lead to violence on election day.

Dioneda added that the concerned barangays in Parañaque and Manila have a history of intense competition in the 2007 elections.

He assured the public that apart from these areas, there are no other localities in Metro Manila being eyed as election hot spots.

Dioneda appealed to candidates and their supporters to exercise restraint and sportsmanship to ensure peace and order in Monday’s elections.

No private armies in Metro

NCRPO director Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome declared yesterday that “our police intelligence agents monitored not a single private army working for barangay and SK bets for the election this Monday.”

Bartolome insisted that there is also no hot spot in Metro Manila for this Monday’s political exercise. The Comelec earlier listed Payatas in Quezon City and Bagumbayan in Taguig City as hot spots, but Bartolome said the poll body has since withdrawn its recommendation.

He said they are enhancing their police deployment and security preparations in these two areas because of the “big number of votes there.”

According to Bartolome, there have been no election-related incidents in Metro Manila with two days left before the political exercise. He said the killing of a barangay captain in Malabon was not considered election-related because the results of an initial investigation indicated that politics was not the motive in the incident.

The NCRPO conducted a dry run Wednesday of their deployment and security set up for the political exercises on Monday.

Bartolome, who conducted a walk-trough and inspection of the deployment and security preparation, was satisfied with what he saw and declared that the NCRPO is “ready for the polls.”

The NCRPO will be on heightened alert at 12 noon today and on full alert at 12 noon on Sunday. Bartolome ordered Metro Manila’s district directors and station commanders to strictly implement the liquor ban starting midnight tomorrow. – With Non Alquitran