NEARLY 2,000 police officers assigned in Central Visayas were able to cast their vote during the first of the three-day local absentee voting which started on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.Of the police officers from Central Visayas, 250 are assigned at the Cebu City Police Office, said Lt.Col. Wilbert Parilla, CCPO deputy director for operations.Parilla told reporters that the start of the local absentee voting in the city was generally peaceful.Parilla said they deployed 10 police officers to secure the local absentee voting activity at the Abellana National School in Cebu City.The voting was conducted manually and the filled-up ballots will be sent to the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) central office in Manila for the canvassing of votes, said acting Cebu City South District election officer Marilou Paredes.The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) is hoping that its more than 10,000 police personnel, including non-uniformed personnel, can cast their votes during the three-day absentee voting activity.PreparednessParedes said they are now prepared for the upcoming national and local elections in Cebu City next month even though they are still conducting an ongoing refresher course for 2,892 members of its local electoral board.The refresher course will discuss the roles of the participants during the election such as the implementation of health safety protocols among the voters and the verification of Precinct Computerized Voters List.Poll watchers, who are mostly composed of public school teachers, will receive an honorarium, transportation allowance, five days of leave credits and the new Covid-19 allowance once they start their election duty.Paredes said each polling center will have its own isolation polling place for voters who have Covid-19 symptoms during election day.