BANGUED, Abra – Some one hundred seventy nine policemen have already been trained to serve as back up members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) to be deployed in the different parts of the province for the upcoming May 12, 2025 mid-term elections when the need arises for their service to administer the conduct of the political exercise.
Police Brig. Gen. David K. Peredo, Jr., regional director of the Police Regional Office – Cordillera Administrative Region (PRO-CAR), said that the training of the police personnel was conducted in close coordination with the Commission on Election (COMELEC) to ensure there are competent individuals that could be tapped to administer the conduct of the political exercise, especially in situations that the assigned BEI members will not be able to perform their duties in the last minute because of various reasons.
He claimed that the number of trained police personnel to serve as back-up BEI members is sufficient but the Philippine National Police (PNP) is still ready to provide additional trained police personnel to render election duties during the conduct of the May 12 polls.
The police official pointed out that the PNP is ready to provide the necessary human resources as back-up BEI members on election day, especially in areas where the assigned BEI members who are mostly public school teachers cannot perform their duties at the last minute, so that the casting and the canvassing of the votes will not be unduly interrupted.
According to him, the PNP is closely monitoring the situation in the province following the series of violent incidents over the past several weeks that raised concerns on whether or not Abra will be placed under COMELEC control during the election to ensure a secure and free conduct of the political exercise.
During the previous elections, some BEI members assigned in various areas in the province allegedly backed out from their duties at the last minute prior to the opening of the polling centers that paved the way for the immediate tapping of police personnel to replace them.
Among the reasons of the BEI members from backing out of their election duties are alleged political harassment, intense political rivalry among the candidates and fear for their safety and security.
Peredo said that the decision to declare Abra under COMELEC control still lies on the recommendation of the provincial Joint Security Coordinating Council thus he directed continuous monitoring and assessment of the prevailing situation in the province as the election approaches to ascertain the fate of Abra in the coming weeks.
He appealed to the people of Abra to be vigilant and to report any attempt to disrupt the conduct of an honest, orderly and peaceful election and contribute in overall efforts to maintain law and order in the province.
Earlier, several shooting incidents transpired in the province in the first three months of the year that resulted in the demise of some politicians and their supporters that prompted some sectors to call for the declaration of the province under COMELEC control. By Dexter A. See
