Negros Oriental : 100 cops sent there as Barangay, SK Elections draw near

Personnel from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB 7) are sent to Negros Oriental to increase police visibility for BSKE 2023. | Police Regional Office 7 photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — In preparation for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) sent 100 policemen from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion in Central Visayas (RMFB-7) to Negros Oriental.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, PRO-7 spokesperson, said that the initiative was in line with the intention of Police Brigadier General Anthony Aberin, PRO-7 director, to have a “very peaceful and secure Barangay and SK election not only in Negros Oriental but in the whole Central Visayas.”

READ: Comelec sets public hearings on postponement of barangay and SK polls in NegOr on June 27-29

No need to worry

Pelare assured that citizens should not be worried because of this.

“But there is nothing to worry. This is just an additional force to make sure that ang atong mga (our) borders, naay (have) security. We will have checkpoints and many more police initiatives in coordination with our Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.

The added police personnel will be detailed in ports, border control points, and strategic check points.

The send-off ceremony was held at the Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. in Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City on Friday afternoon, July 7.

READ: Palma tells those running in SK and Barangay polls: Serve with sincerity

Enough personnel

With the deployment of a significant number of officers to Negros Oriental, Pelare gave the assurance that there would still be enough police personnel ready to assist if needed in other areas in Central Visayas.

“We have sufficient police personnel. Kani atong deployment is born out of analysis. Gi-analyze ang situation kay naa na man tay threat assessment. Naa man tay mga areas of concern nga tan-won. So kaning atong deployment, dili ni pro rata. Magdepende ni sa asa ang mas gikinahanglan nga lugar,” he said.

(We have sufficient police personnel. Our deployment is born out of analysis. We analyzed the situation because we have a threat assessment. We have areas of concern that we need to look at. So this deployment is not pro-rata. This will depend on the needs of the area.)

READ: SC asked to nullify law postponing 2022 Barangay and SK polls

Initial assessment of areas of concern

He added that based on prevailing circumstances, there would be a possibility that more security adjustments would be made and personnel would be transferred to different areas in the future.

According to Pelare, the PNP has already come up with an initial assessment of the areas of concern based on the latest Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution on the categorization of barangays.

The resolution divided the categories into four: areas of no concern, areas of concern, areas of immediate concern, and areas of grave concern, said Pelare.

“Diri sa atoa, naka identify ta naay ginagmay sa Bohol. Naa sad sa Negros Oriental. Naa sad sa Cebu City – mga areas of concern,” he said.

(Here in our area, we have already identified that there are small areas in Bohol. There are also in Negros Oriental. There is also in Cebu City — areas of concern.)

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Negros Oriental

In Negros Oriental, they found that there are some barangays that can be considered areas of concern and areas of immediate concern due to the presence of communist terrorist group and because of previous election-related incidents.

But he clarified that this was just based on their initial assessment and that the categorization they would be releasing would also be based on the assessment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Pelare, however, reiterated that the state of Negros Oriental was back to normal and that its peace and security was stable.

READ: Comelec-7 to launch mall voting on Brgy and SK Elections 2023

Proactive measure

As a proactive measure, they have also placed personnel in the area in consideration of the upcoming elections.

No matter what the final decision would be on whether the Barangay and SK elections in Negros Oriental would push through or not, the PRO-7 would be ready, said Pelare.

In relation to the concern on the safety of government officials with the elections approaching, Pelare said that they would also be conducting a threat assessment on officials.

Threat assessment on officials

“Naka-identify na ta og kinsa ang mga elected officials or government officials nga naay threat (We have already identified who among the elected officials or government officials have a threat). And they are given, temporarily, security by PRO-7, pending their application to Police Security Protection Unit (PSPU),” he said.

He said that while they would be applying, the local police would be instructed to provide security in their engagements. 

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