12th IB Philippine Army on red alert for May elections
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan – Tight security is implemented by the 12th Infantry Battalion as election peace-keeping force in the province of Aklan.
Over the Philippine Army hour radio program, 12th IB Civil Military Officer Capt. Ricardo Villaruel III said the battalion will conduct mobile visibility patrols and checkpoints in the province in cooperation with the municipal police stations and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the synchronized automated May 10 polls.
“The Army troopers are ready against any armed groups out to disrupt the elections. We also established lateral coordination with the Philippine National Police in case of election-related incidents in the province,” Villaruel added.
The Philippine Army soldiers are also tasked to provide security convoy in the distribution of 492 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) voting machines, which have already reached the clustered precincts in the remote communities.
Villaruel said the Philippine Army is solely operating in the far-flung barangays due to lack of police personnel, especially in Sitio Maytaraw, Barangay Taruytoy, Libacao, Aklan where there are presence of communist rebels from the areas of Iloilo and Capiz.
“The 12th IB also set up two election monitoring action centers (EMAC) deployed in the northern part in the Ibajay area and southern portion of Aklan in the areas of Balete, Altavas, Libacao, New Washington to monitor election-related incidents. The augmentation of Philippine Army soldiers will help out the Comelec in ensuring an honest, peaceful and credible election," he said.

Villaruel also urged the Army personnel to remain non-partisan and vigilant in safeguarding the country's first automated election.