440 W. Visayas villages in poll watchlist

MANILA, Philippines - There are 440 barangays in Western Visayas in the election watchlist, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) said yesterday.

PRO6 director Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., however, said the number is not yet final and could increase.

“Filing of candidacy is ongoing, so we cannot ascertain what would happen as the election day nears,” Agrimero said. Candidates for the barangay polls have until Oct. 18 to file their certificates of candidacy.

The 440 villages, representing 11 percent of the 4,051 barangays in Western Visayas, were put on the watchlist due to their history of intense political rivalry, the presence or influence of the New People’s Army (NPA) and political violence, authorities said.

Of this number, Cruz said 431 were classified as rebel-infested areas while the nine others have records of election-related violence in the 2010 barangay elections.

This week, Cruz said the Philippine National Police, Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Armed Forces would conduct a final validation of the list of barangays in the election watchlist.

The regional police have arrested 58 persons, including 55 civilians, for violating the gun ban imposed by the Comelec.

Earlier, Cruz attributed the increase in the number of arrested gun ban violators to ignorance of the law and intensive police operations.

Authorities have confiscated 42 firearms, some of them high-powered; 17 bladed weapons; two gun replicas; and an improvised explosive device.