By Ronron
May 11, 2007
The Philippine National Police (PNP) raised on Friday morning its alert status to full as it sent off in a ceremonial rite at Camp Crame, Quezon City the elements of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) for their poll duties.
PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, Jr. said the red alert status took effect at 8am and will stay on until further notice from the national headquarters.
The PNP initially planned to raise its alert to full status today (Saturday) in preparation for the May 14 polls, but because of the attack last Thursday by the New People’s Army (NPA) against policemen in Mindoro Occidental, it was moved a day earlier.
“It was moved in advance because we had a send off of our personnel this morning for their election duties and anti-criminality operations and because we suffered a heavy casualty in yesterday’s (Thursday) attack by the NPA in Mindoro,” said PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Director Wilfredo Garcia.
Under a full alert status, all leaves-of-absence by PNP personnel are cancelled as they are required to report to the stations to ensure maximum availability of manpower and resources, explained Pagdilao.
“The heightened security stance will also involve police operations to secure vital installations, critical infrastructure, public utilities, and key government installations against possible hostile activities of the local communist movement and domestic threat groups,” Pagdilao said.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has deputized the entire PNP force for this year’s elections after the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chose not to be involved to avoid allegations of engaging in partisan politics like what happened in the 2004 polls.
PNP Chief Gen. Oscar Calderon assured all 115,000 policemen that the Comelec has provided funds for their duties, particularly the supplemental three-day subsistence allowance for May 13, 14, and 15, 2007.
“As Comelec deputies, the PNP is tasked to provide security to candidates, election officials, polling centers, and Comelec accountable forms and election materials,” Pagdilao said.
But all police units and personnel are under strict orders to be neutral, apolitical and non-partisan.
“My message to our police personnel is that this May 14 elections, the credibility of the PNP will be put to a test,” Calderon said.
NCRPO chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla is bolder in its pronouncement. “The PNP ensures that the May 2007 election will be the cleanest and most orderly we have in recent years,” he said.
As of Thursday, the PNP has already recorded 151 election-related violent incidents (ERVI’s) since January 14, which have resulted to 104 persons killed and 112 wounded.
Garcia said the figure is still much lower than the 249 ERVI’s in 2004, and 269 in 2001.
Garcia said he is confident that this year’s ERVI figure will remain lower than in the previous elections, citing the current measures of the PNP to deter violence such as setting up of checkpoints and active dialoguing with local candidates.
In a separate interview, Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. said all military personnel are already aware that they should remain apolitical this season, especially this coming Monday.
He said the reminder was given on different occasions since the department signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Comelec in October 2006 that limited the role of the Armed Forces in this year’s elections.
“A reminder to them is to provide an atmosphere of peaceful and orderly elections, specifically not to provide direct security to candidates, and to conduct security operations in areas of insurgents like checkpoints and prevention of collection of permit to campaign fees,” Ebdane told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) in a forum at Makati City.
He said troops should only make their presence felt near polling precincts when called upon the Comelec.
“There must be written order,” Ebdane said.
In an earlier interview, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said some troops were already deputized to secure the provinces of Abra, Masbate, Nueva Ecija, and San Carlos City in Pangasinan.
Esperon said more than one battalion each are already in Abra and Masbate; almost a thousand troops in Nueva Ecija; and a small team is in San Carlos City.
Esperon had placed the entire 110,000-strong military to red alert status last Thursday in preparations for the elections.
“The whole Armed Forces is on call,” Esperon said./DMS
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment