513 security personnel deployed for Bacolod polls

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

Bacolod City – A total of 513 policemen, soldiers, firefighters, jail personnel, rescuers, and other volunteers will be deployed for the May 13 elections in Bacolod City.

Police Colonel Henry Biñas, officer-in-charge of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) led the send-off ceremony at the city police headquarters Thursday, in the presence of representatives from the Philippine Army, Commission on Elections (Comelec), and other law enforcement agencies.

Twenty personnel were from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), 74 from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), 80 from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and 41 from the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

The team also includes 90 polling center security personnel, 88 personnel from the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team, and 120 personnel in 10 police stations.

In his speech, Biñas conveyed the message of President Rodrigo Duterte during their security conference in Moises Padilla last Wednesday, to the security forces.

Biñas said Duterte directed them to ensure peaceful and safe elections.

He told the security forces that the president wants them to remain neutral, apolitical, and non-partisan.

“We will ensure that every voter and citizen of the city or the island must exercise their rights freely without any force or intimidation,” Biñas said.