ILOILO City – Despite the peaceful start of the campaign period in Western Visayas, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) will still implements “stricter” security measures.
No election-related incident was recorded on Friday – the first day of the campaign period in view of the May 14 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, according to PRO-6 spokeswoman Joem Malong.
Since the start of the election period last month, PRO-6 has been implementing security measures, like police checkpoints and ban on guns and other deadly weapons.
Records from the Regional Election Monitoring Action Center showed that as of 3 p.m. on May 4, a total of 54 persons in the region were arrested for violating the election gun ban.
Police officers were able to confiscate 38 firearms and 17 bladed weapons during the period so far.
In addition, a total of 27 firearms were also surrendered to PRO-6.
As the election day draws near, PRO-6 said it will intensify its security operations.
PRO-6 reminded the public to abide by the guidelines set for the election period.
It also encouraged the public to report any violation that will deter a “safe and fair” election./PN
