100 cops detailed in Abra for BSK polls

By Liza Agoot

CAMP DANGWA, Benguet – A total of 100 policemen from the Police Regional Office-Cordillera will replace colleagues trained to serve as members of the special electoral board for the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).
    PRO-Cordillera police director Brig. Gen. David K. Peredo Jr., in a briefing here Thursday, Oct. 19, on the sidelines of the 122nd Police Service Anniversary celebration, said the augmentation force was scheduled to travel to Abra on Monday.
    The Commission on Elections in Abra showed 55 policemen were needed as replacements in voting precincts where teachers withdrew from poll duties because of security issues.
    Nine policemen will serve in the capital Bangued, 23 in the municipality of Bucay, six in Lagangilang, three in Lagayan, and 14 in Pilar.
    Of the total 91 policemen who have been trained for poll-related job, 36 were standby electoral board members.
    Peredo said members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines will also be sent to Abra but was not told of the number.
    He said authorities did not see the need to place Abra under Comelec control or to revive Task Force Abra, which in past elections has been in control of the situation, because law enforcement in the area is still effective despite election-related incidents.
    "The local police will manage the situation and there is no need to send more troops," Peredo added.
    Meanwhile, Philippine National Police chief Police Gen. Benjamin Acorda, during the briefing, said the provincial police office in Abra has been given the authority to manage the peace and order situation in the province.
    He said PNP has come up with a system that lets the local police manage their respective areas and to only elevate the issue to the provincial or the national level if needed.
    Acorda also highlighted the need to ensure that people will be able to freely exercise their right to vote as a manifestation of a democratic system.
    "We want an election that is void of any influence by any higher official, with the people given the right to select their candidate," he said. -- PNA