Poll officers under serious threat to be reassigned to safer areas

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia  (INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO)

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections will remove election officers from their posts once they receive death threats to ensure their safety, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Friday following the killing of an election officer in Lanao del Norte which is believed to be election-related.

“Ito po ang rule namin ngayon: basta ang election officer ay mayroong serious threat, we will immediately remove doon sa kanyang station para naman siya ay maprotektahan,” Garcia said in an ambush interview.

(This is our rule now: if an election officer receives a serious threat, that officer will immediately removed from his or her station for safety reasons.)

Further, Garcia told INQUIRER.net that these poll officers will be reassigned to different areas not “inconvenient” to them.

Garcia also said that the Philippine National Police (PNP) committed to provide security to election officers in some areas.

“Nag-commit ang PNP in certain areas na bigyan kahit hindi close in na protection or security lang ating local Comelec lalo na sa mga lugar na mainit na,” Garcia added.

(PNP committed to give security and protection to our local Comelec [officers] in areas considered as hot spots.)

Garcia also pointed out that the Comelec will not take any violence committed against election officers lightly.  

“Mangunguna muna talaga kung saan pinapatay ang aming officers… Ilalagay namin sa areas of concern, ilalagay namin sa Comelec control. And at the same time lalagyan namin ng mas maraming at mas mataas na law enforcement,” Garcia noted.

(We will prioritize areas where our officers are being killed… We will place them under areas of concern and Comelec control. And at the same time, we will deploy more law enforcers.)

He previously said that Comelec still has no authority to place areas under government control since it is not yet the start of the election period.

He previously urged Congress to amend the election guidelines so the election period will start once aspirants file their certificates of candidacy.

Garcia shared that the “brutally killed” election officer in Lanao del Norte had been receiving death threats immediately after the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan 2023 elections but ignored the same.