PALO, Leyte,
May 4 (PNA) –- The Philippine National Police (PNP) regional office here has
deployed on Tuesday 121 cops to augment the security in areas of concern in the
region on election day.
Deployed
personnel are tasked to safeguard the transport of election paraphernalia from
its arrival in different towns down to the polling centers.
They will be
on full alert status and on 24-hour duty to make sure the election process will
be peaceful and safe, said Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Jose Erwin
Villacorte in a statement.
These
policemen from the regional headquarters and regional support units attended a
briefing with election officials prior to their deployment Saturday afternoon.
They took an
oath of non-partisanship prior to the deployment. It is a pledge not to engage
in any partisan political activity during the election period.
“The
policemen pledge to be free from any party affiliation or exhibit any bias to
any group, party or cause and to uphold the will of the electorate by protecting
and maintaining the integrity of the ballot and the credibility of the
elections,” Villacorte added.
Of the 121
policemen, 65 was assigned in Samar, 29 in Leyte, and 27 in Northern Samar.
Police provincial directors are expected to give these augmentation force
specific assignments until May 11 or two days after elections.
Each police
officer got a PHP1,000 meal allowance for an eight-day election duty, according
to police regional office spokesman Chief Insp. Ma. Bella Rentuaya
“About 80
percent of our policemen detailed at the regional headquarters has been
deployed in provinces to help the local police in securing polling places,” she
said.
The
remaining 20 percent of personnel will stay at the regional office to
coordinate security efforts and monitor peace and order situation.
The new
deployment is on top of the hundreds of police officers sent earlier to Samar
province, tagged as one of the country’s election hotspots.
The police
regional office urged the public to report to the regional headquarters any
allegations linked to harassment, file complaint against police officers who
will violate the Omnibus Election Code. (PNA)
JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO
JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO
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