CALBAYOG CITY-Anticipating of a possible violence on the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, the city government will be seeking for additional police force.
Mayor Ronaldo Aquino said that the request was contained in a resolution aproved by the city council which aim to ensure that the conduct of the barangay and youth polls in Calbayog will be peaceful.
“In our quest for peace, we feel the need of urgency. We’ve decided to pass a resolution to request for addition number of police forces here especially in our remote villages, so that we can stop violence,” he said.
However, the city mayor did not say as to how many additional police they need to ensure a peaceful and orderly barangay polls in Calbayog.
At present, the city has 86 policemen.
The country is set to hold barangay and SK polls this October.
“There has been a history of violence and conflicts being incited by some political parties here in previous elections,” Aquino said.
“Politics is politics. We cannot blame anyone. We all know that barangay and SK election is a litmus test for our young democracy,” the mayor added.
Calbayog has always been tagged as among the region’s hot spots during elections.
The city is politically subdivided into three districts (Calbayog, Tinambacan and Oquendo) and has 157 barangays.
According to Aquino, he has received reports that as early as now, there are “conflicts” monitored in the different barangays in the city with the forthcoming village polls as the reason.
“In our quest for peace, we feel the need of urgency. We’ve decided to pass a resolution to request for addition number of police forces here especially in our remote villages, so that we can stop violence,” he said.
However, the city mayor did not say as to how many additional police they need to ensure a peaceful and orderly barangay polls in Calbayog.
(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)
