BY JEN BAYLON
ILOILO – Due to a history of political tension and election-related incidents, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) has increased its monitoring of several barangays in the town of Sara.
One of the villages being closely watched, according to IPPO director Colonel Ronaldo Palomo, is Barangay Preciosa.
The decision stemmed from election-related incidents there in the previous election, he added.
On May 11, 2019, two days before the midterm elections, Preciosa Punong Barangay Ronnie Dorde was shot.
The suspects were three alleged supporters of retired army general and then-mayoral candidate Jon Aying. The three were with Edgardo Sumera, Dorde’s rival for the position, at the time of the incident.
Meanwhile, Dorde had openly supported Aying’s then rival and former Vice Mayor Jesus “Jay-r” Salcedo, son of former Mayor Ermilita Salcedo.
Due to rising concerns, the League of Barangays (LNB) in Sara wrote to Brigadier General Sydney Villaflor, director of Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), requesting additional police personnel in the town.
The letter alleged that the Sara police was involved in vote-buying schemes during the May 2019 midterm elections.
The LNB also claimed that armed goons harassed them.
Yesterday, Villafor said three teams of police personnel will be deployed in the 5th District where Sara belongs, each with a team leader — one from the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company and two from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6.
They will be based in Sara and San Dionisio towns, he added.
The regional top cop, however, clarified that the deployment was not at the request of any politician but based on their intelligence assessment./PN
