Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, chief of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), said they will keep a close watch on localities with previous election-related incidents.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The top official of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) said that even if there are no towns considered election hotspots in Cebu province, they will still keep an eye on areas with past incidents of election violence.
Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, chief of the CPPO, said that among those areas are Santa Fe and Madridejos.
“Mayroon kaming mga areas na tututukan pero under Comelec categorization, wala kaming watchlist areas…Madridejos, Santa Fe, other areas meron pa,”
The basis of their assessment for this is past incidents in these areas, including election-related incidents in Santa Fe, based on their 2007, 2016, and 2019 data.
He said that they are closely monitoring at least nine to 12 localities in Cebu province with past incidents and also those with intense political rivalry.
However, Soriano assessed that a few days prior to the May 9 elections, the province remains peaceful.
Soriano said that they are also expecting around 400 police augmentation forces from the region to be deployed here on May 9.
“Ang prayer ko lang na sana walang mag umpisa,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Police Office also encourages those who are running for electoral posts in Cebu City to report to them should they receive threats instead of just posting it on social media.
“We encourage them to come to our office so they could formally lodge a complaint and we can also competently provide whatever police action needed,” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Maria Theresa Macatangay, information officer of CCPO.
Reporting all details to them is crucial so that they can promptly and competently address these complaints. /rcg
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