DAVAO CITY - The May 9 national and local elections in Eastern Mindanao were generally peaceful, the chief of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) said Thursday. Lt Gen. Greg Almerol, Eastmincom commander, noted the absence of election-related violent incidents in Eastmincom's area of operation during the election day. "The deployment of election security task forces (STFs), especially in towns identified as "areas of concern," played an important role in ensuring secure, accurate, and free elections (SAFE)," he said in a statement. Almerol also attributed the peaceful outcome of the elections to the collaborative efforts of different election partners such as the Commission on Elections, Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). "We commend the support of different stakeholders for adhering to the rules and regulations outlined in the conduct of the elections and salute our troops and PNP personnel for showing out their highest standard of professionalism," he said. Almerol also lauded the cooperation of residents, whose "overwhelming participation" in the elections "kept threat groups at bay and made the elections generally peaceful." Beginning May 4, some 13,000 troops were deployed and placed on standby alert by Eastmincom to form part of the election task forces from the command down to its battalion levels. On election day, ground units of Eastmincom likewise conducted security patrols and checkpoints in their respective areas of responsibility. Meanwhile, the province of Davao del Sur where one city and eight municipalities had been identified as areas of concern has also conducted peaceful elections, police said. Col. Julius Silagan, the provincial police director, reported Thursday that no untoward incident transpired in all voting centers in the province. (PNA) }