PNP deploys 1,500 trainees for election duties in Central Luzon

Approximately 1,500 police trainees in Central Luzon have been assigned election duties for the upcoming May 9 national and local elections.

These trainees were formally turned over by the Regional Training Center 3 to the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) as part of security preparations.

PRO3 Regional Director Brig. Gen. Matthew Baccay stated that the trainees will augment the existing police force, which is short by about 800 personnel for election-related activities.

In Northern Mindanao, 601 police personnel were deployed for intensive security and peacekeeping during the elections, alongside 347 newly-graduated police personnel from the Basic Internal Security Operation Course (BISOC).

More than 1,100 additional policemen from the PNP national headquarters (NHQ) at Camp Crame are also undergoing training for election duties.

These NHQ policemen are part of the PNP NHQ Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF), and their training started on April 7 and will conclude on April 29.

PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos mentioned that these additional personnel are on top of the 16,820 uniformed personnel already undergoing training for election duties.

Police Lt. Gen. Ferdinand Divina emphasized that these training programs are crucial for safeguarding election processes to ensure a violent-free and fraud-free election.