PRO8 assures election security in place

By RPCRD, Police Regional Office 8
May 8, 2013

CAMP KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte – Security preparations and operations in the May 13 midterm polls are in place and polished five days before the conduct of the automated elections, assured Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8) director Police Chief Superintendent Elmer Ragadio Soria.

“We have enough troops ready to secure the electoral proceedings, we assure the people of Eastern Visayas that we are working doubly hard so that the ultimate goal of secured and fair elections will not be hindered by any security concern,” Soria said.

He added that all augmentation forces had been deployed ten days before the actual polls to help reinforce local territorial forces while Reactionary Standby Support Forces (RSSF) were activated at the regional headquarters and provincial and city police offices to immediately respond to all forms of emergencies.

The police official said that a total of 4,852 policemen will be deployed to polling centers to perform election duties on election day while the rest of the 6,244-strong PRO8 police force will be performing other election-related duties aside from their routine police functions.

Regular coordination with the Commission on Elections and his counterparts in the Philippine Army are also being done through the Joint Security Control Center (JSCC) while the Election Monitoring and Action Centers (EMACS) closely supervise troop movements and all election-related concerns.

“Security forces were given specific instructions on their responsibility in the security of polling centers and Automated Election System machines including its retrieval to include the safety of the Board of Election Inspectors carrying election results and other paraphernalia from the polling centers,” he added.

In the meantime, Soria also assured the security of the 5,135 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines now deposited in 3,773 voting centers throughout the region by providing police personnel and tapping force multipliers like the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams (BPATs) to secure the polling centers.

Comelec Resolution No. 9669 promulgated last April 17 defined the responsibility of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in ensuring that election results manifest the true will of the electorate by providing security assistance through protecting the sanctity of the official ballots, election paraphernalia and the AES machines, consisting of the PCOS and Canvassing and Consolidation System (CCS), the polling centers and the electorate.