PNP to deploy 2,700 cops for Oct 25 polls in Ilocos Region

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — A total of 2,700 police personnel will be deployed on Monday, Oct. 25 to secure voters as they troop to 19,544 polling centers in the four Ilocos provinces for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections. Chief Superintendent Orlando M. Mabutas, regional director of the Police Regional Office 1 (PRO1), said cops would be posted at the polling centers located in schools across Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan and La Union hours before the official opening of the polls at 7 a.m. "We are doing all we can to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections this coming Monday," Mabutas said. The police will secure the election precincts while augmentation personnel will be used as additional forces outside the poll areas to conduct foot and mobile patrols. For the past weeks, PRO1 has been coordinating closely with local officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), military commanders in Region I and other stakeholders in preparations for the polls, Mabutas said. "Checkpoint operations have been intensified across the region, and our implementation of the gun ban has been in full swing since the start of the election period," he added. Region 1 has 3,265 barangays with the bulk located in Pangasinan, which has 11,113 polling precincts in 364 barangays. Mabutas said PRO1 will be deploying the same number of policemen to avert the possibility of crime during the observance of All Souls’ and Saints’ Days, locally known as "Undas." — DM/RSJ, GMANews.TV