About 100 cops from Eastern Visayas sent to Mindanao for poll duties

INQUIRER FILES

The deployment is part of a nationwide directive from the Philippine National Police (PNP), in coordination with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which also trained the officers to operate automated counting machines.

The 100 officers were among more than 170 from the region who underwent the specialized training.

A send-off ceremony was held at the Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas (PRO-8) headquarters in Camp Ruperto Kangleon, Palo town, Leyte.

“This is part of a national directive. It’s not just PRO-8 that is sending personnel. Other regions are also deploying officers,” said Brig. Gen. Jay Cumigad, regional police director, in a brief interview.

The deployed officers will be assigned to election hotspots in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur and are expected to remain there until May 23.

Cumigad added that other trained police personnel would be deployed across Eastern Visayas, especially in “areas of concern” or those prone to election-related violence or disruption.

Before deployment, the police personnel voted through the Local Absentee Voting (LAV) system on Monday, April 28.

A total of 277 police personnel across the region participated in the LAV held at Matapat Hall within the PRO-8 compound.

Under the LAV system, police officers are allowed to vote for national positions.

“Our police personnel are given the opportunity to vote and demonstrate their vital role in maintaining order while fulfilling their duty as citizens,” Cumigad said.

He also emphasized that PRO-8 would “further intensify its monitoring to ensure orderly, peaceful, and safe elections throughout Eastern Visayas.”