THE Commission on Elections (Comelec), along with Philippine National Police, Philippine Army, and Philippine Coast Guard, led the send-off ceremony of security forces ahead of the local and national elections this Monday, May 9, 2022.

“I understand that going to your respective places of assignments and performing of duties and responsibilities would entail a lot of sacrifices,” said Comelec Eastern Visayas Assistant Regional Election Director Felicisimo Embalsado during the ceremony at Camp Ruperto Kangleon in Palo, Leyte on Wednesday, May 4.

Embalsado urged the security personnel “to have courage, determination, perseverance to surmount the burden of facing the challenges that may lie ahead.”

“Being one of the law enforcement agencies responsible to oversee this national and local elections, from the Philippine National Police, we can indeed attain our ardent desire to bring this event into a successful completion,” said Brigadier General Bernardo Banac, police regional director.

The officials also lauded the personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) “for their service to attain the common goal of having a fair, honest, and secure polls.”

Meanwhile, 8th Infantry Division commander Major General Edgardo De Leon reminded the troops “to be observant and all times, to be responsive.”

“Now is our opportunity to prove to the people whom we pledge to protect that we are indeed patriotic and ready to be of service to the country, to God, and to our people,” the army official said.

According to Comelec, Eastern Visayas has a total of 3,166,262 registered voters and has a total number of 6, 271 clustered precincts. (SunStar Philippines)