MANILA: The Philippine National Police announced on Thursday that they were on “full alert” for the country’s polling day on May 9 in a country where elections are often marred by violence.
More than 67 million Filipinos are eligible to vote on Monday in elections that will decide thousands of positions across the archipelago, including who will succeed Rodrigo Duterte as president for the next six years.
The main contenders for the country’s top office are Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., 64 — the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator — and Vice President Leni Robredo, 57, the leader of the opposition and the only female candidate in the race.
“We have placed all police stations nationwide on full alert status,” PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos said in a statement. “We will stand strong, we will finish strong and we will perform professionally for peaceful elections. The 225,000-strong men and women of the PNP are with the (Commission on Elections) to make sure that we guard the votes of our Filipino nation.”
Gen. Andres Centino, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the military will be on alert from Friday.
“We are ready, we have done the planning, we have done the organization, and we have set up our monitoring command centers. We are declaring ‘red alert’ by Friday so that we ensure that all AFP personnel across the country are accounted for by their commanders and ready for the election on Monday,” he said during a deployment event on Wednesday.
Electoral violence, usually aimed at excluding others from the political process, has been a recurring concern during elections in the Philippines, especially in the south where warlord-politicians often have their own private armies.
Politicians running in elections have been targeted in the past, as have journalists reporting on candidates.
One of the deadliest election-related incidents in the country was the November 2009 massacre in Maguindanao province, which claimed 58 lives — including politicians, their supporters, and at least 32 journalists.