Lanao del Norte police ask for 400 more troops for May polls

NO TO VOTE-BUYING Lawyer Joseph Hamilton Cuevas, provincial election supervisor of Lanao del Norte, urges election officers to keep an eye on vote-buying and vote-selling schemes during the election period, as members of the province’s Joint Peace and Security Committee firm up on April 11 the preparations for the May 12 midterm elections. —Richel Umel

TUBOD, LANAO DEL NORTE, Philippines — The Lanao del Norte police office has asked its regional headquarters to deploy 400 more police troops to augment security in areas with intense political rivalries, just as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has firmed up preparations for the May 12 midterm elections here.

“We must see to it that before the Holy Week, all the necessary preparations are being done and concerns on the ground are properly addressed,” said lawyer Joseph Hamilton Cuevas, provincial election supervisor, during the third Joint Peace, Security Committee (JPSC) conference held here on April 11.

READ: Comelec exec in Lanao del Norte dead in apparent poll-related violence

Police Lt. Col. Salman Saad, chief of the provincial police operations unit, told the Inquirer they had already requested 400 additional troops from the Police Regional Office in Northern Mindanao to augment security before and during the May 12 midterm election period, especially in areas of Lanao del Norte with intense political conflict.

Saad said the JPSC command center would be established at the Mindanao Civic Center in Barangay Sagadan of Tubod town, the provincial capital, ahead of Election Day.

This developed as the members of the JPSC, composed of Comelec, the Philippine Army, the police, and partner law enforcement agencies, pledged to work collectively to ensure a peaceful and orderly midterm election in the province.

Cuevas said the final testing and sealing of automated counting machines (ACMs) in the province had been scheduled from May 2 to May 7 before their distribution to areas that included the lone district of Iligan City and the first and second congressional districts of Lanao del Norte.

Rachel Mae Quimno, coordinator of F2 Logistics, authorized by Comelec to store and distribute the ACMs, however, said they still had to determine when all the official ballots would arrive.

Lanao del Norte has 560 barangays, 44 of them in Iligan City; and 370 voting centers and 856 clustered precincts.

Hot spots

Earlier, based on an initial security assessment, Comelec had included the province’s hinterland town of Nunungan in its list of areas under the “red” category, or areas with serious and grave threats. The remote town, which saw the death of its election officer late last year, has been closely watched by the JPSC.

The towns under Comelec’s “orange” category, which indicated the presence of an armed group, included Magsaysay, Munai, Poona Piagapo and Pantar.

‘Kontra Bigay’ campaign

Cuevas said preparations for the May 12 polls were already 90-percent complete as the election body maintained close coordination with security forces, including the Philippine Army, the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Coast Guard, among others, to secure the upcoming polls.

The election officer also confirmed on Saturday that authorized Comelec personnel would conduct absentee voting on April 15.

Cuevas also told election officers to seriously implement “Kontra Bigay,” or the campaign against vote-buying and vote-selling, a policy implemented by the poll body since 2022.

“We are reaffirming our collective commitment to ensure the safe, secure, and peaceful conduct of the May 2025 national and local elections,” said Col. Rolando Orengo, deputy commander of the Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry “Magbalantay” Brigade.

He added, “We know that the exercise of suffrage is the bedrock of our democracy and it is our solemn duty to safeguard that the rights [of] every Filipino, particularly for the people of Lanao del Norte and Iligan City. So as always, your security sector stands ready to provide the necessary support in addressing all potential threats and challenges that may arise before, during, and after Election Day.”