GENERAL SANTOS CITY -The city police has sustained its heightened alert status and extended the security deployment at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here and other strategic areas in the wake of the extension of the voter registration until Oct. 30. Lt. Clarizel Perez, General Santos City Police Office spokesperson, said Tuesday they maintained their presence at the city Comelec office to ensure smooth and orderly voter registration. She said the assigned personnel, as directed by city police director Col. Gilberto Tuzon, are also enforcing the minimum health and safety protocols in line with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. "Our teams are making sure that the health protocols are strictly implemented, especially the observance of safe physical distancing," Perez said in a radio interview. She said the presence at the Comelec office is part of their deployment plan in connection with the preparations for the May 2022 local and national elections. Dozens of voter applicants gathered outside the city election office on Monday, the first day of the extension period set by the Comelec central office. The Comelec office is on the third floor of Dadiangas West Barangay Hall, which is under the jurisdiction of city police station number 01. In an advisory, it said the voter registration this week will be at its office but will move to a mall-based site by next week. As in the eight-day filing of certificates of candidacy last Oct. 1 to 8, Perez said they have not encountered any problem so far as to the security situation in the site. She said their enforcement and patrol teams will continue to inspect various parts of the city to ensure Covid-19 protocols' implementation. Since the onset of the pandemic last year, the city police have been doing random visits in business establishments and various public areas to monitor the compliance of residents, especially on the wearing of face masks and face shields, and the distancing measures. The city remains under the general community quarantine until the end of the month although the recorded new Covid-19 infections have significantly decreased in the past several days. On Monday, the City Health Office only reported 18 new cases in the area, bringing the active infections to just 587 after reaching over 1,000 during the surge last month. The confirmed cases in the city since last year have reached a total of 13,549, with 487 related deaths and 12,474 recoveries. (PNA) }