By Glazyl Masculino BACOLOD CITY – Policemen in Negros island have not recorded any election-related violence or incidents during the conduct of the local and national elections on May 13. In Bacolod City, Police Col. Henry Biñas, officer-in-charge of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), said there was no apprehension on vote buying and liquor ban in the city. There were reports on vote buying, a day before the election but upon verification of the said reports, it turned out to be negative, Biñas said adding that the situation was peaceful. In Negros Occidental, Police Maj. Edison Garcia, public information officer of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO), said election offenses were reported such as vote buying in the towns of Moises Padilla, E.B. Magalona, and Hinoba-an, but the conduct of the electoral process was smooth with no untoward incidents. Garcia said the voters were still able to exercise their right to suffrage. The Negros police also arrested nine violators of liquor ban. Garcia said those who violated the Omnibus Election Code will be charged accordingly. Meanwhile, Police Lieutenant General Fernando Mendez Jr., deputy police chief for administration of the Philippine National Police (PNP), met with the top officials of the Philippine Army and local police at the NOCPPO headquarters last Monday as he visited the town of Moises Padilla. He personally checked the situation after it was placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), following the killings of a reelectionist councilor and his uncle in the town last month. In Negros Oriental, Police Col. Raul Tacaca, director of Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, said the intensive and tedious preparation of the local police, in cooperation with the Comelec, the Philippine Army, the Department of Education, and others resulted to the successful conduct of the elections. “The well-coordinated movements of our personnel securing the election paraphernalia coupled with the people’s mutual trust and support made a historic event of a peaceful election in the entire province,” Tacaca said. “Our candid appreciation to the people of Negros Oriental especially the candidates who remained steadfast in preserving the peace and order and in educating their supporters to strictly adhere with the law, making the event a very remarkable one,” he added.