|
Friday, March 23, 2007
Military not needed in S. Mindanao during polls: Comelec
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will hopefully not be deputized to help during the May elections here in Southern Mindanao, said Commission on Elections (Comelec)-Southern Mindanao spokesman Melcar Unso.
Unso said they are not anticipating any election-related violence here this coming May polls, thus the possibility of the military's involvement is far-fetch, at least here in the region.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
He said the least participation the military would have in this election would be to ferry election paraphernalia to far-flung areas via helicopters.
"They could bring the ballots to areas where it would take days to reach by foot. But the security itself in the precincts and the ballots, I think could be handled by the PNP (Philippine National Police)," Unso said.
City Police Office Director Jaime Morente, however, admitted that in Davao City, it would be a tall order for them to secure all precincts during election.
He said they would need all the help they could get especially from the citizens.
Morente assured though that all plans are laid as to the security aspect in this coming election.
At the moment, he said, they have been constantly patrolling and setting up checkpoints to ensure that the election laws are followed and implemented.
The police, along with Task Force Davao, have established two permanent checkpoints, one in Sirawan and another in Tibungco.
The police Mobile Group, meanwhile, is conducting random checkpoints within the city to implement the election gun ban.
Morente said since the start of the gun ban, they have already recovered 20 firearms and arrested and charged 13 persons. Nationwide, the police have arrested 529 violators during the first month of the election gun ban.
Of the 529 violators, 492 are civilians, 20 police personnel, nine members of the military, five government officials, and three agents of other law enforcement agencies.
The Camp Crame-based National Election Monitoring and Action Center reported a total of 444 incidents of violations of the Omnibus Election Code and is currently monitoring the progress of 151 criminal cases filed against the violators. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (March 23, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Charges filed vs 2 AFP officers, 5 Cafgus over activist slay