The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Tuburan town, northern Cebu remained smooth and peaceful despite the history of electoral violence in the place.
Superintendent Melbert Esguerra, Tuburan Police Station chief, said that they have not encountered any major problem since the opening of the polls on Monday morning.
The town remained in a “normal” situation throughout the election day, Esguerra told reporters.
“Naa lay mga reports atong nadawat nga may mga sighted armed men, but so far pag validate nato negative tanan. Atong election remained peaceful,” said Esguera.
The Police Regional Office (PRO) and the Commission on Election (Comelec) in Central Visayas declared six of the 54 barangays in Tuburan as Election Watchlist Areas (EWAs) due to the intense political rivalry, sightings of rebels, and private armed group.
A week before the elections, the villages of Monte Alegre, Sumon, Putat, Carmelo, Mag-atubang, and Gaang were declared as hotspots.
“We are happy na normal lang ang sitwasyon although di gihapon ta mo lax sa atong security,” Esguera said.
Esguerra said that he attributed the peace and order situation of Tuburan to the police visibility and their counterpart in Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
At least 70 police personnel were augmented in Tuburan while about 100 soldiers from the AFP-Central Command were also deployed in the town.
Esguerra said that the augmentation was a big help considering that there are only 24 police personnel in Tuburan police station and the number will not be enough to cover the entire 54 barangays of the town.
He said that even with the 3 p.m cutoff, authorities maintained the strict security in the town.