First day of local campaign: ‘Generally peaceful’ in Central Visayas – Sinas

Brigadier General Debold Sinas, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — It has been generally peaceful.

This has been the assessment of Brigadier General Debold Sinas, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas director, about the first day of the election campaign period for local candidates in the region covering the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

Sinas told CDN Digital in a phone interview that he based his assessment on the reports he had received from the city and provincial directors in Central Visayas.

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Sinas visited the three provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor this day. 

“Personally akong nakita kining tulo ka probinsiya malinawon ang unang adlaw sa local and national sa pag abli sa kampanya karong adlawa,” he said.

(Personally, I saw that these three provinces are generally peaceful on this first day of the local campaign period.)

Sinas said that police would be monitoring and securing several campaign rallies that would be held today.

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In Siquijor, a candidate for governor would be holding a rally tonight (March 29) while in Dumaguete, several candidates had also their own activities scheduled for the night.

He said on April 1, candidates allied to the Hugpong Pagbabago in Dumaguete would hold their opening salvo for their election campaign as national candidates would drop by to visit them during the activity.

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In the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, activities of the candidates were scheduled for today, March 29, and he said  that despite these activities, the province remained peaceful.

Meanwhile, Sinas said that although there would be police officers assigned to secure the pulong pulong or proclamation rallies of local candidates, no police officer would be allowed to accompany candidates going house to house to campaign unless the Commission on Election would allow it.

He also said that these police officers would also be required to wear their police uniforms if they would be assigned to accompany candidates doing a house to house campaign.

Sinas also encouraged the public to get a photo of the erring police officer and call the PRO-7.

He also said that a number of police officers had been given the task by Comelec to escort local politicians.

He said these police officers would be given permits to escort these politicians running in the elections, but they would be required to show these permits to the Comelec and PNP in our next meeting./dbs