230 cops to secure elections in Samar

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — A total of 230 policemen from the Eastern Visayas police in Tacloban City will be deployed in Samar as part of security preparations for the upcoming May 9 general elections.

Eastern Visayas police director Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac clarified that the move was a part of the initiatives of the police in securing the elections, and not because Calbayog City or Samar were deemed election hot spots.

“This is just to send a message to all that the police in the region is ready to address all possible eventualities,” Banac said, adding that the local police needed beefing up due to recent crimes that occurred in the province.

He said these criminal acts must be stopped to avoid the incidents from escalating until election day.

“The decision to declare an area as an election hot spot depends on the Comelec. So far, we have no election hot spot. The deployment of additional troops in Samar is just to strengthen our security measures against criminality,” Banac said.

The deployment will start tomorrow, and the officers will be under the Regional Special Operations Task Group-Samar (RSOTG-Samar), which is directly supervised by the Eastern Visayas police.

The RSOTG-Samar’s operations will focus on Calbayog City and the towns of Gandara, San Jorge and Santa Margarita.

The series of crime incidents in Samar’s first district cannot be linked to political rivalry, Banac said.

He said supporters of some candidates claimed that the incidents were politically motivated.

Probers have yet to find proof that the incidents were due to political rivalry.

Earlier this month, the Army also sent a battalion of soldiers in Samar to help address the problem on private armed groups.