• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Visayas Command (Viscom) has deployed two combat utility helicopters to Negros Oriental to augment ground forces during the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Monday (Oct. 30).
“The deployment of the two air assets is part of our contingency plan in case of hostile incidents, especially during transport of the election returns after the voting period,” Viscom chief Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo said in a statement.
Arevalo added that the two air assets, comprising Air Force Blackhawk and Bell helicopters, will provide immediate close air support to the ground troops who will respond to any incident.
The assets will be pre-positioned at Camp Leon Kilat in Tanjay City and will be placed under the operational control of the 302nd Infantry Brigade.
While the peace and order in Negros Oriental is now stable and very much under control, Arevalo said: “we don’t want to take any chances.”
Viscom also set up an Election Monitoring Action Center (EMAC) at Camp Lapu-Lapu in Cebu City, which has a direct line of communication with all established EMACs from the regional level down to municipal level.
It is equipped with high-end communication and information technology equipment to ensure unhampered communication especially during the election day, Arevalo said.
Two weeks ago, Viscom sent additional 181 security personnel to Negros Oriental, which is now under the Commission on Elections (Comelec) control due to the series of violent incidents in the province in the past months.
At present, a total of 2,719 AFP personnel have already been deployed in Negros Oriental, of which 1,285 are presently conducting focused military operations in the hinterlands.
This is to deter and prevent the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army from conducting hostilities that may disrupt the electoral process in these areas, Arevalo said.
The remaining 1,394 are supporting the Philippine National Police in sustaining the Comelec checkpoints, securing the polling centers during the election, and guarding the transport of election paraphernalia.
Negros Oriental has only nine election areas of concern compared to 51 in Negros Occidental. | GB
