The Philippine National Police (PNP) has further intensified its security measures across the country in anticipation of the possible outbreak of violence as the campaign period for local candidates starts this Friday.

Last Thursday, the PNP leadership placed all its troops in Mindanao under the highest security alert status, saying it is in the area where election-related violent incidents (ERVIs) are likely to happen.

Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman, said that Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and the Visayas will be on heightened alert status, which means at least half of the strength of every police unit must report for duty and that more beat patrols and target-hardening measures must be implemented.

“We have long anticipated as experienced in the past elections that election-related violent incidents are at the local level and not on the national level,” said Espina.

“So we have to be on guard and prevent violence from occurring at the local level, particularly in areas declared as immediate areas of concern,” he added.

Espina said the PNP has not hoisted the highest security alert status in Luzon and the Visayas to give way for regional and police commanders to increase the security alert status one notch higher.

“We have different situations in different areas so it is already a call of the regional and provincial commander whether or not they would elevate it to full alert status,” said Espina.

And since the security situation in Mindanao is different with the presence of so many armed goons and terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf, Espina said there is a need for them to be more vigilant in the areas. This is the reason a full alert was declared in all units assigned in the entire southern Philippines.

Also included in the alert status is the elite Special Action Force (SAF) which was earlier deployed in election hot spots areas.

A full alert status means that all leaves of all personnel are cancelled in order to attain a 100 percent attendance of policemen in every unit.

“But they (Luzon and Visayas police commanders) cannot lower it to normal alert, the standard is the heightened alert status which was declared by the National Headquarters,” said Espina.

The military has yet to announce its alert status but Espina said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is expected to follow suit since both the police and military are members of the Joint Security Coordinating Center, which is under the Commission on Elections (Comelec).