By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
More than 1,000 personnel from the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) will secure the conduct of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) in the city on Monday, October 30.
At least 1,043 security personnel were dispatched to guard polling precincts and to conduct checkpoints to deter criminal activity during the polls.
BCPO director, Colonel Noel Aliño, during the send-off ceremony at BCPO headquarters in Barangay Singcang-Airport yesterday, said 380 BCPO personnel were also deployed to Panay Island to augment the security forces during the BSKE.
Aliño urged his personnel to conduct continuous monitoring amid the heightened alert status imposed for the upcoming local polls and “Undas.”
Aliño also told the police commanders that he knew they were in a difficult position and had been sacrificing their time with their families due to their deployments.
“Mag-tiyaga tiyaga muna ang mga pulis. Kita mo naman mula MassKara [Festival], ito naman ang BSKE, tapos ang Undas. Kahit ako hindi ko madadalaw ‘yung puntod ng nanay at tatay ko,” Aliño said.
“Pero maiintindihan din ‘yan ng yumao nating pamilya. Kahit ako sisipain pa ako ng tatay ko na magtrabaho ako at mag-serbisyo muna. Mas matutuwa ‘yung mga yumao nating kamag-anak na hindi natin iniwan ang trabaho natin. Maiintindihan nila ‘yun,” he added.
Aliño immediately met with his police commanders to encourage them, as some of the city police forces may be exhausted and are eager to take a break or visit the burial place of their loved ones who have already passed on.
Aliño added that police personnel will be allowed to take breaks after the BSKE and the observance of Undas on November 1 and 2.
Meanwhile, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO), in a separate send-off ceremony at its headquarters yesterday, deployed 5,021 personnel, including 2,176 police officers, 2,119 soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 575 personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection, and 151 Philippine Coast Guard personnel.
NOCPPO director, Colonel Leo Pamittan, assured the Negrenses that they could vote securely on election day.
“We’re ready for Monday’s elections. All polling precincts will be manned. We assure the public that the conduct of the elections will be secured,” Pamittan said./With reports from PNA / DGB, WDJ