AFP to go on red alert Friday morning for May polls

The Philippine military will be on red alert starting Friday morning in preparation for the country's first ever nationwide automated elections on May 10. Col. Ricardo Nepomuceno, spokesman of the Armed Forces’ Task Force HOPE (Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections) on Thursday said all troops have to be on their posts on or before 8 a.m., the start of the effectivity of the red alert status. The red alert status, the highest in the military’s three-tiered alert level scheme, will be in effect until May 20. "Under red alert, we have to be there [posts] 100 percent. This will also be the start for us to man our operations center and then that is the signal for us to start implementing the security preparations we prepared," Nepomuceno said. Under red alert, soldiers are not allowed to take vacations including days off. "We will implement the red alert, meaning they [troops] now know that even their approved leaves and vacations are canceled. All of them should be reporting to duty," Nepomuceno said. Task Force HOPE, headed by Armed Forces vice chief Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang, was formed to provide supervision, direction to military personnel who will perform election-related duties. Nepomuceno asked the public to report to the Armed Forces any military personnel who will commit election-related infractions, including siding with any of the candidates. "We will appreciate if you can help us," he said. "We will be committed to ensure the credibility (of the elections) and a smooth transition to the next administration," he added. Meeting with PPCRV Earlier in the day, the task force had an "informative" meeting with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). Nepomuceno said they "threshed out and clarified some concerns so that our coordination with the PPCRV will be smoother." During the meeting, Nepomuceno said the PPCRV agreed to send a liaison to the task force’s operation center "so that we can easily resolve whatever issues they will get from the ground." Nepomuceno said the two parties also agreed to have an exchange of directories up to the precinct level "so we will know who to contact." "Our intent is to ensure that the elections will be transparent and that we will have a peaceful election," he added. - KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV