Tuesday, October 02, 2007 Army to activate monitoring center for barangay, SK polls By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE Philippine Army's 10th Infantry Division will activate the Division Election Monitoring and Action Center (Demac) in time for the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections later this month.
In a telephone interview Monday, 1st Lieutenant Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, officer-in-charge of the 10th ID's public affairs office, said they will reactivate Demac two weeks before the October 29 elections.
She said the center will handle the monitoring of the situation in the field before, during and after elections.
Demac will also coordinate the deployment and report latest situation in areas expected to encounter problems, better known as election hotspots.
Included in the areas under the 10th ID are the entire Davao Region, General Santos City and Sarangani Province.
Lieutenant Colonel Rolando Bautista, 10th ID spokesman, meanwhile said they will assist the Philippine National Police in election duties as they have been deputized by the Commission on Elections.
"We will provide augmentation forces to the PNP upon request," Bautista said.
He added that reserve forces in the brigade and task force headquarters will also be in place to act as contingency elements to react to election-related incidents."
A ranking military official earlier said the Armed Forces of the Philippines is already preparing contingency measures to prevent communist rebels from disrupting the coming elections.
The military said they are expecting the NPA to try to influence the outcome of the barangay and SK elections, especially in remote villages, because they want to gain the support of local officials.
Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres, Army spokesman, said soldiers have recovered rebel documents which showed a plan to ask candidates for the barangay polls to pledge their commitment to oppose the establishment of military detachments and the recruitment for members of Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu).
The AFP however assured the public that they are prepared to meet threats that might be posed by the NPA in remote communities in the country during the conduct of the barangay and SK polls.
