CEBU, Philippines - To ensure a peaceful and orderly elections in the province, the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) has started putting up advance command posts (ACP) to monitor all election-related activities in places in the Election Watchlist of Areas (EWAS).
Areas described as prone to violence and with intense political rivalries that need to have ACPs are Cebu’s second, third, fourth and fifth districts.
Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, CPPO director, said that PNP’s duty is to ensure the safety of the public although he admitted that they could not totally eradicate threat.
“As PNP, we are in the position to minimize any trouble. This is part of our operation called Safe 2013 and this is precisely the reason we have augmented personnel for the people to feel safe,†Comendador said adding that people can easily visit the ACP in the area if they have concerns.
Supt. Glenn Ares, Deputy Provincial Director for Administration, is tasked to be the overall supervisor in northern Cebu while Supt. Renato Malazarte, Deputy Provincial Director for Operations, is for southern Cebu.
EWAS are determined based on evaluation and assessment of past election experiences, presence of private armed groups and presence of communist groups. Supt. Paul Labra II, Regional Intelligence Division (RID) chief, said so far, there is no place in Central Visayas that is recommended to be under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In Cebu City, every polling center will have a Police Assistance Desk (PAD) where voters can immediately ask for assistance, said Cebu City Police Office Director Mariano Natu-el, Jr.
Natu-el said they will not be putting up ACPs as there is no place in the city that is included in the EWAS.
Each PAD, which will be open from 7 am to 7 pm, will be manned by a police officer.
Four other policemen will guard the vicinity of the polling area and they will be deployed as soon as the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines are distributed.
There are around 70 polling centers in Cebu City, mostly in schools. — Niña G. Sumacot, Ria Mae Y. Booc/MBG (FREEMAN)