THE military yesterday assured the people of Negros Oriental of a peaceful conduct of the December 9 special election in the third district of the province to fill up the vacancy left by the expulsion of Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr, who has been accused as the alleged mastermind in the killing of Gov. Roel Degamo and nine others last March 4.
Teves was expelled by the House of Representatives for his extended absence. An arrest warrant had been issued against Teves, who is said to be hiding abroad.
The AFP Visayas Command (Viscom) said it is now turning its focus on next month’s special polls following the successful conduct of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections last October 30 in the entire Visayas.
The filing of the candidacy for the special election started yesterday and will run until Thursday. Meanwhile, the campaign period will run from November 9 to December 7.
Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the AFP Visayas Command based in Cebu City, said the military is ready to help secure the special election.
“We are prepared and ready to support the Comelec (Commission on Elections) and the PNP once called upon to serve in the upcoming special election,” Arevalo said.
“At present, coordination with the Comelec is being undertaken for the guidelines in the conduct of the special election for us to align our security plan,” he also said.
Arevalo said additional soldiers will be deployed to the third district of Negros Oriental to secure the elections, if needed.
“The people can be assured of a safe and secured special election this coming December 09. In the last Barangay and SK elections, our security efforts covered the entire province. This time, we’ll only have to focus in the third district,” he said, adding: “If there is a need for us to add additional troops, then we will do so.”
Arevalo assured the public that Viscom “will never waver in our efforts and will remain highly committed to ensuring the safety and security of our people in Negros Oriental.”