NCRPO to Metro voters: Monitor bets with too many bodyguards

by Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star)

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=556227

MANILA, Philippines - The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) is calling on the public to help the police monitor candidates who maintain more than two police security escorts.

NCRPO spokesman Superintendent Rommel Miranda said they need the help of citizens in the police campaign against private armed groups.

Under the law, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said each candidate can have a maximum of two police security escorts and if they need more than that, the politician must seek permission from the poll body.

NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales expressed optimism that elections in Metro Manila would be honest, orderly and peaceful, with a minimal number of election watchlist areas.

But Rosales said the NCRPO is finalizing its plan to reposition of some its closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to places that might be considered later on by the Comelec as areas of concern.

He believes that the presence and utilization of CCTV cameras to monitor some polling centers will even provide a sense of safety and security among voters during the elections, knowing that authorities can see what is happening in the polling precincts.

“The mere presence of the cameras will deter some candidates from committing prohibited acts within the polling precincts during the day of the elections like campaigning and the bringing of firearms inside the polling precinct,” he added.

Based on the assessment of the NCRPO, the possibility of violence in Metro Manila is very remote and Rosales wants to maintain this situation by strictly implementing the “total gun ban imposed by the Comelec and by using the capability of its state-of-the-art Regional Tactical Operations and Intelligence Center (RTOIC) to monitor certain areas that would pose certain security concerns.”

Rosales assured candidates and voters that the plan covers monitoring only the general peace and order situation in the polling centers and will not in any way be used to monitor their right of suffrage, including their right to choose their candidates