Guerrillas, not politicians, pose biggest election threat in Misor

By GERALD LEIGH LAQUINON
Correspondent

THE New People’s Army (NPA) weigh up a greater threat in the upcoming elections in Misamis Oriental, the provincial joint command conference revealed here on Tuesday.

In the conference headed by the Commission on Elections, police and military officials presented the security situation and plan to ensure the safe conduct of the national and local elections on May 9 in the province.

Provincial police director Senior Supt. Manuel Sukarno Alvarez said that the NPA sighting and activities are more rampant in the eastern part of the province.

The 58th Infantry Battalion corroborated the report and has deployed its troops to conduct combat operations in the outlying barangays to preempt the NPA atrocities that may disrupt the conduct of the elections.

Alvarez has ordered to intensify the conduct of Comelec-PNP checkpoints and “chokepoints,” and ensure the security details for the deployment and storage of the Vote Counting Machines, the final testing and sealing, until the end of the electoral process.

Also, the chiefs of police in the 26 municipalities presented their evaluation on their respective security situation, the political rivalries there, the presence of organized and unorganized armed groups, and their planned deployment of PNP uniformed and non-uniformed personnel.

They also presented their budget proposal for the mobility of the police enforcers.

The provincial treasurer and budget officer reechoed the promised of their municipal counterparts to provide the budgetary allocation for the needs of the security personnel.

Meanwhile, the 58th IB that mainly oversees the insurgency problem in the province, said their combat operations against the NPA guerrillas continue.

Military troops are incessantly conducting clearing and reconnaissance operation especially in areas known to have NPA presence, not only to secure the election conduct but also to rescue the enforcers held captive by the rebels.

Lawyer Joseph Hamilton Cuevas, Comelec provincial elections officer, who presided the conference, cited the adept support of their partners in various offices and hoped for a peaceful and honest election come May 9.