The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police expect a peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections on Monday, May 13, but they have prepared operational plans to achieve this end, which includes the deployment of troops in some areas.
The AFP started the deployment of troops in Palawan even before the send-off ceremony especially in island municipalities.
Despite of the announced electoral hotspots in Palawan, the AFP and PNP assure the protection of the voters and the poll workers. The electoral hotspots in Palawan include the towns ofRoxas, Quezon and Bataraza.
“Tayong mga alagad ng batas, tayong mga kasundaluhan, ito ang isang trabaho natin; pagbibigay ng proteksyon para sa karapatan ng mga kababayan natin. Yung pagboto nila ay ipakita natin na poprotektahan natin kung ano man ang mangyayare na hindi tayo magpapabaya,” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Calingasan.
According to Brigadier General Gaerlan, Roxas, Quezon and Bataraza belong to the hotspot areas because of the past related incidents and activities that happened during the past. He said that based on their observation, there are no current issues occurring in these areas that compromise the security of the upcoming election. Despite this, they are tightening the monitoring of these areas.
There is a shortage of police officers and soldiers but they assured that there will be an officer in each of the polling precinct. Regardless of the shortage, Brigadier General Gaerlan further said that they will deploy Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to respond to emergencies.
“Rest assured that the Armed Forces of the Philippines, especially the Western Command, is ready to address all of contingencies here in the province of Palawan,” said Brigadier General Gaerlan.
“Sa ating mga kababayan galing dito sa Palawan, hinihingi namin ang inyong suporta dito sa eleksyon. Alam naman namin na kung wala ‘yung suporta ng taumbayan ay hindi rin magiging successful ‘yung Armed Forces, PNP at COMELEC sa pagtupad ng aming mga tungkulin. And kung mayroon mga reported na incidents, feel free to contact us here at Joint Task Force Peacock, also with the Joint Task Group Commanders so that we can act on those concerns,” he added.
The AFP and PNP contingents were presented by Brigadier General Charlton Sean Gaerlan, Commander of Joint Task Force Peacock (JTFP), and Police Lieutenant Colonel Arnold Calingasan, Deputy Provincial Director of Palawan Provincial Police Office, respectively, to the COMELEC representative Jomel A. Ardas during the Readiness Inspection and Send-Off Ceremony of the Palawan Provincial Joint Security Control Center (PJSCC) Contingent for the National and Local Election 2019 in the Headquarters of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Tiniguiban last May 7, 2019.