Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año has instructed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to take proactive measures to protect politicians and voters alike ahead of the 2019 midterm elections.
Año issued the order in the wake of recent spate of killings involving local officials and politicians seeking electoral positions.
“The PNP should take offensive and preventive measures. We should be several steps ahead of those who resort to violence to win an election. We should be vigilant and ready to prevent any untoward incident,” Año said in a news statement.
“The PNP should intensify police interventions, operations and police visibility. Even before the campaign period, we should show that the police are always on alert so that those who are out to sow chaos would think twice,” Año said, even as he acknowledged the surge of killings in the recent months, which appear to be politically motivated.