38 C. Valley towns on election watchlist

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines - – At least 38 towns in Cagayan Valley have been placed under different levels of concern in connection with the Oct. 28 barangay polls.

Of those in the watchlist, nine are categorized as areas of immediate concern – Gonzaga town in Cagayan, and Ilagan City and the towns of Benito Soliven, Echague, Gamu, Jones, San Agustin, San Guillermo and San Mariano, all in Isabela.    

Police have placed Isabela’s remote coastal town of Maconacon as an area of grave concern due to its history of election-related violence.

Those classified as areas of election concern are the Isabela towns of Alicia, Angadanan, Aurora, Burgos, Cabatuan, Cordon, Delfin Albano, Luna, Naguilian, Palanan, Ramon, Roxas, San Mateo, San Pablo, Sta. Maria and Santo Tomas.

In Cagayan, Tuguegarao City and Buguey, Enrile, Pamplona, Gattaran, Solana, and Tuao towns are listed as areas of concern, along with Aritao and Solano towns in Nueva Vizcaya, and Diffun town in Quirino.

Earlier, police identified 15 barangays here and in the Nueva Vizcaya towns of Aritao, Ambaguio, Dupax del Sur, Kayapa and Kasibu as areas of election concern.