(From left to right) Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, PRO-7 spokesperson; Attorney Joaquin Fernandez and Ivan Delos Santos, Comelec-7 administration officers; and Colonel Erwin Lamzon, JTG commander, during the post-election briefing on Monday evening, October 30. | Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The conduct of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections 2023 saw no major problems.
This means that the situation on Monday, October 30, 2023, has been generally ‘peaceful and orderly,’ according to authorities.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of Police Regional Office Central Visayas, spoke to reporters during a post-election media briefing at the PRO-7.
READ: LIVE UPDATES: 2023 Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan elections
No untoward incident, says police
According to Pelare, they have not recorded any untoward incidents that happened while residents cast their votes.
“As far as security is concerned, we would like to happily report that there are no major security challenges recorded all throughout Central Visayas sa panahon sa pag-vote (since the time of voting) until now,” he said.
“There are only minor mga security concerns but these were addressed appropriately. And it did not affect in whatever form the safety and security during the voting,” added Pelare.
However, the police are investigating two separate alleged harassment incidents in Argao and Dumanjug in Cebu province that happened before the election.
READ: Dumanjug harassment: Police identify two of four suspects, who pointed guns at victims
Group throwing stones in Argao
In Argao of southeastern Cebu, Mayor Allan Sesaldo confirmed that they received reports of a group allegedly intimidating and throwing stones at people in Barangay Bulasa last Saturday, October 28.
Meanwhile, four armed men, including an incumbent barangay captain, allegedly kicked and pointed guns at a group of men in Barangay Tapon, Dumanjug, Cebu on Sunday evening, October 29, 2023.
As of this writing, both incidents are being validated and investigated by police personnel in the respective areas.
READ: Comelec-7 eyes improvements in the next Barangay, SK elections
Security for counting of votes
Pelare told reporters that after the voting, they are now preparing to provide security coverage for the counting of votes.
He assured the public that just like during the voting, they are ready to secure a peaceful counting and proclamation process.
“With the deployment in place, we are very confident that ang atong Barangay and SK election will wind up as a very peaceful and secure election,” said Pelare.
READ: Netizens acknowledge changes of the Barangay and SK Election 2023
Mall voting peaceful, orderly
Colonel Erwin Lamzon, commander of JTG (Joint Task Group), 3rd Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also told reporters during the briefing that the situation inside the polling stations inside the two Cebu City malls were ‘peaceful and orderly.’
Lamzon said that this assessment was made after he discussed with officials and security of the two malls in Cebu City.
He said that he found out that people were lining up properly inside the malls and behaving properly. This is why they are considering extending areas for mall voting for future elections.
“We are now looking at the possibility of expanding areas within the malls that can be accredited by Comelec para modaghan ang pwedeng makabotar sa mall depending on the number of precincts that can be placed there,” said Lamzon.
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