Cops in Tubaran, Lanao Sur on heightened alert for special polls

MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said it had placed the entire municipality of Tubaran in Lanao Del Sur under full alert status as part of its security measures for the conduct of special elections in 12 of its barangays.

Maj. Gen. Valeriano T. de Leon, PNP director for operations, said the action is aimed at preventing any armed groups or individuals from attempting to sabotage or influence the results of the special election for the more than 8,000 voters who were disenfranchised on May 9 for security reasons.

“According to our monitoring, there have been sightings of armed men in some areas, and my directive to our personnel on the ground is to ensure that these armed men are not given a single opportunity to carry out their nefarious plans,” De Leon, who is currently in Tubaran town supervising the security for the special elections, said.

“We have sufficient troops here in Tubaran, which were bolstered by our counterparts from the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he added.

The armed men are believed to be supporters of mayoral candidates, and de Leon said they are monitoring these groups, especially after an explosion a few days before the special elections.

At least 600 police officers and 400 soldiers were dispatched to Tubaran, according to PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr.

De Leon stated that all the cops and soldiers are stationed in strategic locations to prevent armed groups from entering designated voting precincts.

At least 52 police officers in these voting precincts are serving as Board of Election Inspectors.