Binalbagan Mayor Alejandro Mirasol ordered the local police to tighten security during the short visit of presidential bet and Vice President Leni Robredo to his town Friday, March 11.
Robredo arrived in Negros Occidental Thursday, March 10, for a grand rally in Bacolod City and campaign sorties in several cities and towns in the province.
But prior to her arrival, a Binalbagan netizen, in a Facebook post, threatened to throw acid at Robredo after her supporters heckled her opponent, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., during his visit to the province a few weeks ago.
In a now-deleted post, the Balbal Binalbagan Shout-out FB page said: “Ready na amon Accido sabya sa iya para maka balos man kmi sang gin himo nila kay BBM pag caravan.”
During the February 23 rally of Marcos Jr. and runningmate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in Negros Occidental where several Robredo supporters shouted “magnanakaw” and “kawatan” when his caravan passed through Talisay City.
Leni-Kiko fliers were also thrown at the caravan, which landed on Marcos’ face.
Mirasol said he called the attention of the town police, as well as the military to augment the security in the town during Robredo’s visit.
“Let me remind everyone, hurling threats is a crime, especially if this is against the person who holds the second highest position in the country,” he said.
He added, “I deplore such actions. We support different presidents, but let us respect each other’s choices.”
Col. Leo Pamitan, Negros Occidental police director, said he joined the caravan of Robredo to ensure her safety.
He also ordered the police chiefs of Binalbagan and Himamaylan to tighten their security measures during the caravan, and had asked the deployed policemen to quickly disperse the crowd if there was a convergence and prohibit people, especially the anti-Leni group, to get near the candidates.
He also directed the Information Technology department of the provincial police to check the person behind the Balbal Binalbagan Shout-out FB page and verify if the person was sighted in the areas. He also directed them to verify the person’s identity.*