BACOLOD CITY — The Bacolod City Police will deploy 517 police officers to secure the 45 voting centers and man the seven strategic points in this city during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Monday.
Senior Inspector Armilyn Vargas, city police public information officer, said six policemen will be assigned to each voting center, along with quick reaction teams from each of the 10 police stations.
Vargas said they also created seven strategic control points that will be manned by personnel of the Bacolod City Mobile Force Company, which will respond if the stations need additional forces.
She said policemen assigned to secure the voting centers will report to their respective areas of assignments on Sunday to survey the situation early.
They will check the water and power supplies, as well as the perimeter fences to ensure that the voting centers are secure, she added.
Vargas said Senior Supt. Francisco Ebreo, Bacolod City Police officer-in-charge, has reminded his men during the send-off of troops on Friday to stay neutral and non-partisan while serving their election duties.
They should not enter the polling precincts without a written request from the Bureau of Election Inspectors and should avoid touching election paraphernalia to avoid creating malice, she added.
Aside from the more than 500 policemen, the Bacolod Police will also be assisted by 84 personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection and 585 people from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and other rescue units.
Vargas said the Bacolod Police did not get an augmentation force from Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas), but they instead provided 80 personnel to the regional headquarters, which in turn, were assigned to the Negros Occidental Police.
She added that 31 mobile patrol cars, seven fire trucks, 10 ambulances, 59 motorcycles, 54 hand-held radios, and 12 base radios will be made available for the May 14 elections. (PNA)
