CAMP FLORENDO, La Union – The Police Regional Office-1 (Ilocos) is all set for the barangay elections on Monday, October 30.
PRO-1 chief Police Brig. Gen. John C. Chua said that the necessary security preparations and deployment of security forces in coordination with the Comelec-Region 1 have been completed and precautionary measures are being implemented in election areas of concern in the region.
“Our equipment and other logistical needs are already in place. We have already deployed more than 8,000 policemen to safeguard all voting centers in the region. Our Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF) is also on standby for deployment,” Chua said.
PRO-1 recalled 453 personnel who are undergoing mandatory training to render election duties.
“We commit our wholehearted dedication and effort to ensuring that the upcoming BSKE 2023 will be conducted with transparency, fairness, and security. We take this responsibility seriously and we will exert every effort to safeguard the electoral process,” Chua said.
“What we are aiming is all registered voters in Region 1 have cast their vote smoothly and peacefully, and I am appealing to the residents’ cooperation to help sustain the conduct of safe, accurate, and fair BSKE 2023,” Chua added.
Red teams were deployed to conduct inspections in voting centers, checkpoints, and police stations to ensure the operational readiness of deployed personnel prior to the elections.
Meanwhile, the PRO-1 Regional Election Monitoring Action Center said 47 individuals were arrested for violating the election gun ban. Sixty-two firearms were confiscated since the gun ban was imposed on August 28.