MANILA — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde confirmed Monday that up to 90 percent of the police force will be deployed to secure the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on May 14.
“That would be around 150,000 to 160,000 men and women,” Albayalde said as he stressed that plans are contingencies ready for the polls.
The PNP chief explained that while they have identified 5,744 barangays which had incidents during past elections, most of these were not considered hotspots but recorded minor scuffles and fistfights in the past.
The Commission on Elections said that more than one million individuals filed certificates of candidacy (COC) to run for more than 600,000 elective posts during the eight-day filing period for the village polls.
The PNP said Bicol Region, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Central Luzon have the most number of so-called “hotspots”, with ARMM having the most number of partisan armed groups.
Other armed groups also exist in Ilocos, Central Luzon and the Cordillera.