Police chief bemoans unfair media reporting in village polls

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

DAGUPAN CITY – The chief of police of this city lamented the irresponsible reporting of some media men in the recent village polls that no policemen have been seen manning some polling centers.

Dagupan City's chief of police Superintendent Christopher
Abrajano enumerates to a TV reporter the preparation
of the Philippine National Police in All Saints' Day.

Superintendent Christopher Abrajano said the Philippine National Police has deployed its personnel to guard all the precincts here to ward off any eventualities that could disenfranchised the voters' rights of suffrage.

“Sa media iyong iba na observed natin, report katabi iyong police, sasabihin na walang police doon sa polling precinct where in fact ang mahigpit na tagubilin ng regional police office at ni provincial director (Superintendent Marlou Chan) ay maglagay at least two police officers doon sa ordinary polling precinct and polling center. Paano pa iyong area of concern  like iyong (Barangay Bonuan) Gueset na area of concern naglagay tayo hindi lang two police officers pero binuhos pa natin iyong quick reaction team, army, at  (police) public safety company so paano nila sasabihin na wala silang nakikitang police?,” he deplored.

Pangasinan Provincial Director Marlou Chan strictly
ordered all his chiefs of police to designate two
PNP personnel in every ordinary poll center in the
last generally peaceful village polls in the humongous
province.. 

 Aside from this city's regular forces of 160 police men here in the October 28 election, Abrajano said he deployed four teams where each of them has eight men.

He said two teams came from the public safety company and the other two teams came from the Philippine Army.

Abrajano cited the village polls here and the province of Pangasinan were not “generally peaceful” but “peaceful with an exclamation point”.

“Iyong preparation natin, iyong mga plano natin did not fail us until the last barangay official has been proclaimed walang naging significant violence naganap sa Dagupan City,” he stressed.

He said that there were no shooting incident and firearms confiscated from those who were not allowed to carry during the gun ban period imposed by the Commission on Election in this city.