Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Regional Director Police Brig. Gen. Redrico A. Maranan answers questions from the media during a press conference on the National and Local Elections 2025 assessment held at the PRO7 Regional Office, Cebu City. (PIA7)
CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) — The Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 said the 2025 Election Day in Central Visayas was “generally peaceful” even amid reports of vote-buying in Cebu and Bohol provinces.
PRO7 regional director Police Brig. Gen. Redrico A. Maranan said in a press conference that vote-buying was reported in Sibonga town, Cebu City, and Bohol province.
“There were 10 operations of vote-buying, and we were able to arrest 11 persons and confiscated P250,000 as evidence,” said Maranan.
However, the PRO7 chief assured that no untoward incidents were reported during Election Day based on the Regional Monitoring Election Center (RMEC).
“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa ating mga kababayan sa pagsunod nila sa ating mga security measures na pinatutupad at lalong higit kaming nagpapasalamat sa ating mga counterparts ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) at sa lahat na, one way or another, ay nakatulong na mapanatili nating ang mapayapang halalan dito sa Central Visayas,” said Maranan.
He added that the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Central Visayas will remain under “red alert” or full alert status until after the proclamation of winning candidates.
No major technical issues
Meanwhile, Comelec 7 assessed the voting process in the region as peaceful and orderly.
“I would like to say that we are on the stage of a generally orderly and peaceful election. Wala tay na encounter na mga huge problems. I would say, except kanang mga knowledgeable na mga glitches lang and then most importantly, I proudly say nga walay mga makina nga nagproblema ta,” said Lawyer Francisco Pobe, Comelec7 regional director.
(We have not encountered any huge problems, except for some glitches but I’m proud to say we did not have any major issues.)
Pobe, however, noted the slow turnout of voters in some towns in Cebu province
“Number one reason is ang lugar layo og ang signal lisod kaayo. Ikaduha, ang mga botante dugay mahuman ang boto diin extended ang voting hours. Slow ang pacing sa voting,” he explained.
(The number one reason is the poor signal in far-flung areas. Next, there were voters who took a long time to cast their votes, which resulted in the extended voting hours. The voting pace was slow.)
No armed encounters
The Philippine Army reported that there were no armed encounters reported in Negros Oriental during the voting period.
Philippine Army 302nd Brigade Commander, Brig. Gen. Joey Escanillas, said they have not received any report of threats that aim to undermine the voting process.
“We don’t have any encounter in the province so far as of today. Maayos yung pagka assist ng ating security personnel kasama ang mga kapolisan. In some areas of concern, wala ding reported of any security concerns during elections,” said Escanillas.
(We don’t have any encounters in the province as of today. Our security personnel provided good assistance together with the police. In some areas of concern, no security concerns during elections were reported).
Two areas in Negros Oriental, namely Guihulngnan City and La Libertad, were earlier placed under the “red” category in the election watchlist.
On May 2, government forces had an armed encounter with suspected members of the New People’s Army on May 2 in Guihulngan City. (HFG/PIA7)
