The Philippine National Police (PNP) will be coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the protection of its employees and officials especially in the province after an election officer of Maluso, Basilan was shot and wounded in an ambush in Isabela City on Momday.

PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said the focus of the security are Comelec election officers who are assigned in areas with intense political rivalries and with history of election violence.

At around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Maluso election officer Aknam Hasim was wounded when armed men repeatedly shot his car on Calle Posporo, Barangay San Rafael in Isabela City.

Hasim was immediately brought to Bascom Hospital and now undergoing treatment.

Eleazar has earlier ordered early preparations to ensure the peaceful, honest and orderly conduct of the May 2022 presidential and local elections. Among the measures now being conducted are the aggressive campaign against loose firearms and the operation against active and inactive members of private armed groups.

The Chief PNP emphasized the need to prepare early, saying that this would effectively deny criminal elements the opportunity to sabotage and sow violence during the campaign period, election day and the proclamation of winners.

During the eight-day filing of certificate of candidacy and certificate of nomination and acceptance from October 1 to 8, early PNP preparations resulted in a generally peaceful conduct of this first part of the election process.

“On the part of the PNP, we are continuously conducting preparations and aggressive operations against all the threat on the peaceful and honest conduct of the May 2022 elections,” said Eleazar.