A total of 114 Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) personnel who have relatives running for a posts during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections were reassigned as part of the police’s efforts to maintain impartiality during the polls.
This was announced by BPPO Police Community Relations Branch (PCR) chief Senior Insp. Rufo Potane Monday ahead of the elections which will be held nationwide on May 14.
“Adunay 114 ka mga PNP personnel nato sa 37 ka mga municipality nga dunay mga paryente sa atong mga kandidato ron sa Barangay ug SK election ang gi-reshuffle,” said Potane.
According to Potane, none of Bohol’s 48 chiefs of police were included in the reshuffling as all of those reassigned are non-commissioned officers.
The 114 cops started to report to their new assignments on May 4, the start of the campaign period.
Potane however noted that the reassigned police personnel will be immediately redeployed to their original units after the elections.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 police officers from the BPPO and the Police Regional Office 7 will be deployed to the province’s voting centers.
The Philippine Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Eufracio Malig Jr. will also be stationed in key areas during the polls to boost security.
So far, none of Bohol’s villages have been listed as part of the Election Watchlist Areas, although the Commission on Elections (Comelec) previously recommended to have 19 barangays as part of the poll “hotspots.”
The Comelec list however will still have to be approved by the Regional Joint Security Coordinating Council. (R. Tutas)