PNP deploys 160,000 policemen for elections

May 2, 2019

Eleven days before the election, the Philippine National Police ( PNP) on Thursday deployed around 160,000 cops to provide security nationwide.

“The DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government), PNP and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines are fully prepared to provide security nationwide for the upcoming elections on May 13,” PNP spokesperson Colonel Bernard Banac said in a press briefing.

“As we see, the 2019 midterm election will happen in 11 days, the PNP remains in full alert and we have increased the number of personnel to be deployed to 160,000 personnel,” he said. With this full deployment, Banac said even their personnel assigned on administrative duties will provide security and be included in their reserve forces. The 160,000 police personnel will deployed in polling centers, canvassing centers, transportation of Comelec paraphernalia and their equipment; and reserved forces and existing checkpoints. The PNP assured the public that police operations will be more active and intensified. Based on their latest data, from January 13 to April 29, a total of 4,038 firearms have been voluntarily surrendered and confiscated as a result of their 594,810 focused police operations which led to the arrest of 4,839 individuals. Banac said police personnel are prohibited from engaging in any form of partisan political activity. “The only political exercise that we are allowed to perform is to cast our votes and strictly no bringing of firearms inside polling centers,” he said. Ella Dionisio/DMS