Metro cops preparing list of poll ‘hot spots’

Metro police chief Director Ricardo de Leon ordered his five district directors yesterday to identify election hot spots and politicians maintaining private armies in their areas of responsibility.

De Leon gave them until Jan. 10 to submit their report .

"I’m giving them 10 days to identify hot spots so we can work early in maintaining security in Metro Manila before the May elections," De Leon said in an interview.

In the past local elections, the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) listed at least 17 areas in Metro Manila as election hot spots. No figure on private armies was made available.

In his directive to the district directors, De Leon said an area can be declared an election hot spot based on records of past election incidents, heated political rivalries and the presence of private armies.

Upon receipt of De Leon’s directive, Chief Superintendent’s Marcelino Franco Jr. and Oscar Valenzuela, directors of the Northern and Eastern Police Districts, respectively, started assessing their command’s "areas of immediate concern."

According to Franco, his command had no election hot spot or private armies in the past local elections. There appears to be a heated political rivalry in Malabon between the camps of suspended Mayor Amado Vicencio and acting Mayor Mark Allan Jay Yambao, but Franco dismissed this, saying the police is on top of the situation.

"So far, not a single area in my jurisdiction can be considered an election hot spot and we monitored no private armies," Franco said in an interview.

Valenzuela said they have started assessing the political situation in the three cities and towns in eastern Metro Manila.

"Like in the previous elections, eastern Metro Manila recorded hardly any poll-related violence, and we intend to keep it that way," said Valenzuela, adding that their assessment of the area would be a continuing process.

De Leon pointed out that its still too early to gauge the political situation in Metro Manila as the filing of certificates of candidacy has just started.

"We can have a clearer picture of the political situation after all the candidates have filed their COCs," he said.

But while police have shifted to election mode, De Leon reminded district directors and Once the reports on election hot spots and private armies are submitted, Superintendent Rogelio Damazo, NCRPO intelligence chief, will validate them. — With Pete Laude