ADDITIONAL policemen will be deployed to “high risk” areas to ensure the security of candidates running in the May elections as the campaign period for national candidates start today.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the instruction of PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil is to “maximize all available PNP personnel” to ensure the orderly and peaceful conduct of the campaigns.
Last month, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) identified 403 cities and municipalities as election areas of concern. Fajardo said the number has not increased as of yesterday.
“Of course, in the areas under Yellow, Orange and Red (election areas of concern), definitely we will increase our deployed, particularly in the areas we call high risk areas,” said Fajardo.
She said personnel from the PNP regional and provincial mobile forces will be sent to these areas and will be augmented by troops from the Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies.
“We will be deploying sufficient number of PNP personnel in coordination with other uniformed and law enforcement services,” she said without giving figures.
She said the move will “make sure that our national candidates, including the party-list nominees, will have secure campaign sorties in these areas.”
Fajardo said the PNP is ready for the start of the campaign period, stressing that security measures have been in place weeks ago.
“Expect that our security coverage is ready in areas where there will be influx of national candidates from the National Capital Region, down to Visayas and Mindanao,” she said.
Fajardo said some candidates have already coordinated with the PNP the areas which they will visit during the campaign period.
In response, she said route security will be in place “to ensure their safety while they are conducting campaign sorties.”
Fajardo also said checkpoint operations will be intensified amid the start of the campaign period, adding that police commanders already “know what to observe during the conduct of checkpoint operations.”
Fajardo again reminded policemen manning the checkpoints to be “courteous” to people.
To the candidates and their supporters who might be inconvenienced by the checkpoint operations, Fajardo said: “We would like to appeal to them to respect the prevailing checkpoints.”
