PNP on full alert for BARMM polls; over 10,000 cops deployed
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is on full alert on Friday as it stepped up security preparations for for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections on Sept. 14.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame on Friday, PNP public information chief Col. Allen Rae Co said the full alert status took effect n Sept. 11 and will remain in place until Sept. 30.
“That is 100 percent ng ating personnel na nandoon sa kanilang places of assignment to better handle any emergency or any contingency,” Co explained.
(That is 100 percent of our personnel that will be there at their places of assignment to better handle any emergency or any contingency.)
READ: PNP beefs up deployment for BARMM polls to over 9,800 cops
“Bawal mag-leave, so 100 percent nga present ang lahat ng ating kapulisan,” he added.
(Leaves are not allowed, so our police force will be 100 percent present.)
The PNP is also increasing its deployment for the elections from 9,821 to 10,439 personnel.
Co detailed that the Police Regional Office (PRO) BARMM will deploy 4,979 personnel, while other PROs, the Maritime Group, the Highway Patrol Group, the Explosives Ordnance Disposal and Canine (EOD K9) Group and the Special Action Force will deploy 5,460.
The PNP public information chief also noted that 223 of the deployed officers will monitor Commission on Elections (Comelec) offices, 225 will monitor local treasurers’ offices and 5,045 will monitor voting centers across the region.
He added that 412 personnel will man checkpoints, while 2,465 will be deployed for quick reaction forces, 221 for civil disturbance management, 69 for reactionary standby support forces and 25 for EOD K9 duties.
Meanwhile, 1,754 police officers will be deployed for the Special Electoral Board, which may supervise elections in areas without enough Comelec personnel.
Around 2.393 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots at 5,212 voting precincts across BARMM on Monday to elect 78 members of the autonomous region’s parliament./dp
