Almost 100,000 police and soldiers are being deployed across the Philippines in an effort to prevent political violence ahead of May's elections.
More than a 100,000 police and military troops are being deployed across the Philippines to provide security ahead of elections due in May.
They will staff checkpoints aimed at enforcing a total ban on guns and limiting the size of the security escorts necessary for politicians.
The aim is to enforce a ban on all unlicensed weapons and encourage private militias to disband.
Their efforts will be focused on more than 500 areas identified as hotspots.
The move comes in the wake of the mass killing of 57 people in the southern province of Maguindanao.
The killing of 57 people in Maguindanao province in November has highlighted the country's security problems.
The incident was widely believed to have been related to the forthcoming elections in May.
The main suspect, Andal Ampatuan Junior, part of a politically influential clan with ties to President Gloria Arroyo, pleaded not guilty to murder on Tuesday.
It is a measure of the history of election related violence in the Philippines that these additional security measures are deemed necessary.
The victims, members of another important political family, had been on their way to register a candidate for local elections.
It is also a very high profile effort to try to reassure a nervous and sceptical public that the authorities are determined to act. In part the heightened security is a response to the massacre in Maguindanao last November.
Guns, goons and gold
The main suspect, Andal Ampatuan Junior, is a member of a politically powerful family that has long provided strong support for President Gloria Arroyo.
Months ahead of May's national and local polls, the authorities are taking steps to try and cut down election-related violence.
Mr Ampatuan stands accused of killing relatives of a rival political clan who were on their way to register a candidate for May's elections.
The Philippines has a long history of political violence
Several journalists and lawyers were also among the victims.
Although campaigning does not begin until February, this weekend marks the beginning of the official election period and heightened security measures will be put in place.
Their convoy was stopped at a check point before the killings were carried out.
Officials say almost 100,000 police and soldiers - supervised by the election commission - will operate thousands of checkpoints around the country.
In the days that followed the entire police force of the province was removed and some senior officers placed in custody.
They will be charged with upholding a total ban on carrying firearms in public places. Only members of law enforcement agencies and some police-accredited security agencies will be exempt, and then only when in uniform.
So setting up police check points in areas identified as security hotspots may not provide as much reassurance as the authorities hope.
More than 100 of the hotspots identified by the authorities lie within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which includes the province of Maguindanao, scene of November's massacre.
The head of the national police, Jesus A Verzosa, said the goal was to ensure a peaceful and credible election - but this will not be easy.
The Philippines has a long history of political violence. Society is awash with firearms - both licensed and unlicensed - and dominated by rich and powerful families, many with their own private armies.
There is even a well-known local saying that election results depend on which candidates have the most guns, goons and gold.
More than 120 people were killed during the course of legislative and local elections in 2007, when there was a similar ban on firearms. Almost 200 died in 2004's presidential, legislative and local elections.
