The Police Regional Office-Cordillera said a number of its personnel will be on standby and ready to render duties as members of the electoral board in the region.

“They have been trained to serve the duties of teachers in case there are precincts that will require the service,” said Police Regional Office-Cordillera (PROCor) chief regional staff Col. Elmer Ragay said in a message on Wednesday.

He said they have included the training of policemen to assure that there will be personnel who can be tapped as alternate election board members in all provinces, in case they are needed.

“Ginawa na natin yan (We already did that) in the past where our policemen were the ones who became the EB when there were no teachers who want to serve for fear of their lives,” he said.

During the 2019 midterm elections, 13 personnel from the PROCor served as members of the Electoral Board in Lagayan, Abra.

The policemen rendered the service because no teachers, registered voters, or government employees were willing or eligible to serve on the electoral board as most of them either have safety concerns or were relatives of politicians.

Lagayan town, which has 3,144 registered voters, has been identified as an election hotspot due to several peace and order issues in the past. (PNA)