THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has placed Iloilo City under its watchlist following the March 23 grenade attack on the ancestral house of Mayor Jerry P. Treñas in Molo district.
No casualties and fatalities were reported. One room with its front walls was damaged by the blast.
Comelec Regional Director Dennis Ausan announced that more safety measures will be placed in the city under watchlist.
Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as other law enforcement agencies will immediately be on hand to ensure the safety of the city and its people against lawless elements out to disrupt the peaceful election period, he said.
Ausan said the PNP can now move its resources to augment the local police force, particularly the Iloilo City Police Office (Icpo).
Meanwhile, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas had requested additional security detail and augmentation of the Icpo forces from PNP Regional Director Isagani Cuevas at Camp Delgado here.
The city mayor also instructed the Icpo to intensify police checkpoints especially on 3 to 4 a.m. “where lawless elements usually conduct their nefarious activities.”
Ausan admitted that a series of incidents led the Comelec to declare the city under watchlist. (Lydia C. Pendon)