BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) said will start deploying police personnel at least 10 days prior to the national and local elections on May 9.
NOCPPO spokesperson Police Lieutenant Abegael Donasco said they already have a date of dispatch for election-related materials which will be transported to the northern and southern part of the province.
However, Donasco refused to say the exact date for security reasons.
The NOCPPO spokesperson also said they will no longer ask for additional manpower from other provinces, as part of health protocols to ensure that no new variants of the coronavirus disease 2019 will enter Negros Occidental.
Of the six city and provincial police offices in Western Visayas, only NOCPPO was able to report zero cases of COVID-19 variants.
Nearly 1,400 police personnel under NOCPPO will be assigned to guard voting centers during the elections.
Two policemen will be deployed for each of the 698 voting centers in the province, while the rest will be assigned either in the City or Municipal Election Monitoring and Action Centers, or as part of NOCPPO’s quick reaction force in case a serious incident occurs.
Negros Occidental has a total of 10,130 voting precincts./PN
