THE Philippine National Police (PNP) assured on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, that security measures are in place for the conduct of a peaceful and orderly special election in 14 barangays in Lanao del Sur.In a press conference in Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said more or less 800 police personnel were deployed in Tubaran for the special elections there scheduled by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on May 24.Fajardo said the local police are also continuously coordinating with contending parties, and this has been among the reasons of chaos in the province in the last May 9 polls, which has resulted in the declaration of failure of election.“Sa ngayon, wala pa tayong narereceive na serious threat, particularly diyan sa probinsya ng Lanao at patuloy pa rin naman ‘yung ginagawang intelligence build-up and monitoring at gathering ng pinagsanib na puwersa ng AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) at PNP para masiguro ‘yung ating mga kababayan doon come May 24 ay makakalabas at maicacast ‘yung vote nila na walang pinangangambahan sa kanilang safety and security,” she said.PNP director for operations Brigadier General Valeriano de Leon said police personnel will serve as Special Board of Election Inspectors during the conduct of the special elections.He said they are continuously coordinating with the Comelec and the AFP, assuring they are prepared to foil any eventualities.De Leon said one of the concerns they are addressing is the utilization of flying voters.“In various areas of Mindanao, the use of flying voters has always been one of the biggest challenges affecting the integrity of elections. Sana doon sa mga nagtatangkang gumamit ng flying voters ay huwag niyo na pong gawin ito dahil hindi po kayo makakalusot sa scrunity ng mga election officers, mga pulis that were trained as SBEIs at ang mga security cluster would always be there to assist,” he said.”We want to avoid flying voters, we don’t want any violence in the precinct, and we want to accommodate as many registered voters as possible in the area,” he added.Since January, the PNP recorded 27 validated election-related violent incidents, of which 10 were under investigation, 12 were referred to the prosecutor’s office and five have already been filed in court.The special election will be held in barangays Tangcal, Datumanong, Guiarong, Baguiangun, Wago, Malaganding, Gadongan, Riantaran, Pagalamatan, Mindamunag, Paigoday-pimbataan and Metadicop in Tubaran and Ragayan and Pindolonan in Butig and Binidayas, respectively. (SunStar Philippines)