AS part of their early security preparations for the 2022 national and local elections, Philippine National Police chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar has ordered his men to properly secure officers and employees of the Commission on Elections specifically in areas with history of violent poll-related incidents since 1998.

On June 12, 2018, Noel Miralles, a Comelec officer in Mabini, Batangas was assassinated by two motorcycle-riding gunmen in Batangas City.

However, the most prominent Comelec officer to be killed in recent history was lawyer Alioden Dalaig, a Comelec law department director who was shot dead by still unidentified gunmen in Ermita, Manila on November 10, 2007.

Dalaig was killed just hours after a local election officer in Bacoor City in Cavite was also killed by assassins.

Gen. Eleazar said that in coordination with the Comelec, they are doing their best to ensure the protection of poll officers and employees particularly in areas with security problems and with history of previous poll-related violence.

The top cop issued the instruction after Aknam Hasim, an election officer of Maluso, Basilan was wounded in a gun attack in Calle Posporo, Barangay San Rafael in Isabela City around 7:25 p.m. two Mondays ago.

The Police Regional Office 9 said that their initial investigation showed that Hasim was inside his vehicle with his wife when the car was repeatedly shot by unidentified gunmen. Hasim was immediately brought to Bascom Hospital and is now undergoing treatment.

“Makikipag-ugnayan tayo sa liderato ng Commission on Elections upang pag-usapan kung paano makakatulong ang inyong PNP sa seguridad ng mga opsiyal ng Comelec lalo na sa mga probinsya na may history ng election violence,” said the PNP chief .

“On the part of the PNP, we are continuously conducting preparations and aggressive operations against all the threat on the peaceful and honest conduct of the May 2022 elections,” he added.

Gen. Eleazar has earlier ordered early preparations to ensure the peaceful, honest and orderly conduct of the May 2022 presidential and local elections. Among the measures now being conducted are the aggressive campaign against loose firearms and the operation against active and inactive members of private armed groups.

The PNP chief emphasized the need to prepare early, saying that this would effectively deny criminal elements the opportunity to sabotage and sow violence during the campaign period, election day and the proclamation of winners.

During the eight-day filing of certificate of candidacy and certificate of nomination and acceptance from October 1 to 8, early PNP preparations resulted in a generally peaceful conduct of this first part of the election process, he said.

During the May 2019 mid-term election, at least 20 people were reported killed in so-called ERVIs.

However, the PNP said that the number of ERVIs recorded during the 2019 mid-term elections dropped by 55 percent as compared to figures from 2016.

At least 60 ERVIs were recorded from January 19 to June 6, 2019 lower than the 133 ERVIs recorded in the last elections.

For the 2019 mid-term polls, 51 election-related violence were recorded from January 13 to May 12 while eight cases were reported during Election Day. Only one was reported so far after the elections.

Of the 113 victims reported in the 2019 polls, 23 were killed, 46 were injured while 44 were unharmed while 50 people were reported killed during the 2016 presidential elections.

The PNP’s campaign against loose firearms and partisan armed groups are known to be major factors in addressing ERVIs every election.

During the 2019 elections, police seized more than 5,000 firearms of different types and nearly 50,000 other deadly weapons from over 6,200 suspects who were arrested during police response, checkpoints, gun checks and the serving of search warrants for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013 andRA 9516 or illegal possession of explosives.

The PNP leadership then attributed the reduction in the number of incidence of election violence to early preparations that started as early as July 2018.

The sharp decrease in ERVIs during the past election was attributed to strict security measures implemented by both the PNP and the Armed Forces in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, and the cooperation of candidates to prevent violence.

Other factors which may have contributed to the low ERVIs were the PNP’s application of search warrants on known criminal lairs, guns-for-hire, and members of private armed groups and application of warrants of arrest on wanted persons.

More than 17,500 positions will be at stake during the May 2022 elections. On E-Day, Filipinos will be electing a new President, a Vice President, 12 Senators, 51 Party-List representatives, 209 Congressional District Representatives, 79 Provincial Governors and Vice-Governors; 722 Provincial Board Members, 84 City Mayors and Vice-Mayors, 816 City Councilors, 1,533 Municipal Mayors and Vice-Mayors and 12,308 Municipal Council representatives.