Barangay, SK election campaign kicked off peacefully —PNP

The campaign period for the 2018 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections kicked off peacefully, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Saturday.

"The first day of the campaign period for the Barangay and SK Elections is generally peaceful  with no significant election campaign related incident recorded," PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao said in a statement.

The two-week campaign period started at midnight of May 4, Friday.

Police have been in full alert since Friday, and will be so until May 20, or as long as needed. The elections will be held on May 14.

Bulalacao assured that the PNP will continue to monitor hotspots, assuring the public that the police force is on top of the situation.

"To maintain this favorable situation, the PNP continously monitors the barangays categorized as hotspots or those where violence are likely to occur due to intense political rivalry with history of violence and presence of armed and threat groups," he said.

"With all security forces on alert, the PNP remains on top of the situation," it added. — Jessica Bartolome/MDM, GMA News