BAGUIO CITY, (PIA) – Cordillera Police Regional Director PCSupt. Edward Carranza ordered all provincial and city police directors in the region to make a report on possible illegal drug involvement of candidates for the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in their respective areas of responsibility.
In consonance with the national policy, identify barangay captains involved in illegal drugs, intensify your effort on drug – affected barangays and come out with reports on those involved in illegal drugs and those protecting drug personalities, Carranza said. If there are elective officials running for barangay and that are into illegal drugs or harbouring drug personalities, the people should know, he added.
Carranza also bared that with the support of the military, they will also run after armed groups who may disturb the peace and order situation in the region.
In line with the election rules that Commission on Election(Comelec) reiterated during a command conference, Carranza directed all Police Regional Office – Cordillera(PRO-Cor) provincial and city directors to inform the local chief executives in their AOR that starting midnight of April 13, all PNP assigned to Vice Governor and below will be recalled from their security detail post. He also ordered all PDs/CDs to make sure that no police personnel shall perform work assignments on areas where they have a relative up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, running for barangay and SK post.
‘I do not want our police to be involved in violating election/COMELEC rules. It is your command responsibility’, Carranza said.
To further strengthen security, peace and order operations during the election period from April 14 to May 25 and on election day on May 14, 2018 Carranza recommended for the formation of regional secretariat, with COMELEC and the Armed Forces of the Philippines AFP to foster the Joint Security Control Centerplan of action.
Carranza led other PRO – Cor officials during the COMELEC- led Joint Security Control Center Command Conference for the May 14 barangay and SK elections. They were joined in the meeting by their counterparts in the military particularly officers of the 5th and 7th Infantry Brigade assigned in the Cordillera provinces./(JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)
