AFP, PNP raise highest alert status for barangay, SK polls

The country’s military and police forces raised their highest alert status on Saturday in preparation for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Monday. Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Vice Chief of Staff, said in a press briefing on Saturday that the 130,000-strong armed forces went on red alert nationwide at midnight Friday. Mapagu, who also heads the Task Force for Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections (HOPE), added that the AFP is “very prepared" for Monday’s polls, since preparations for the grassroots elections have been in place since last month. “We always remind our troops that we are a non-partisan organization, and our role is to actually ensure an honest, orderly, peaceful and credible election. Anybody who engages in partisan political activities will be charged accordingly," he said in the briefing. In a separate press conference, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said that full alert status has also been raised among the country's 135,000-strong police force starting 8 a.m. Saturday. A red alert status means that all AFP personnel have to stay at their posts at all times. The full alert status in the PNP, meanwhile, bans police forces from going on leave, and requires them to report for work to ensure peace and order during Monday’s polls. More intense, personal Mapagu admitted that the country’s armed force expects to have a “more difficult time" performing its duties during the grassroots polls compared to the national elections held last May. The AFP officials said that barangay and SK elections tend to be “more intense and personal," hiking up the potential for violence. A total of 34 election-related violent incidents have been recorded by the AFP since the start of the campaign period last September 25, according to Mapagu. The figure is much lower compared to the number of election-related violent incidents recorded last year, which Mapagu pegged at 98. Mapagu likewise said that the AFP will deploy around 700 soldiers in Metro Manila to man 50 checkpoints around the country’s capital. The AFP will also set up on Monday a media briefing room at its headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, where media personnel can get updates on the security situation during the grassroots polls.—JV, GMANews.TV