PNP validating poll hot spots

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has started validating the areas in the country which have been identified as hot spots in next year’s elections.

PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos said the validation would assist the police in strategic planning of law enforcement operations to ensure order and
security in the polls.

The PNP Directorate for Intelligence has initially identified 488 towns and 58 cities as election hot spots, of which 46 fall under the red category.

Carlos said the list is subject to change depending on a number of factors such as occurrence of  election-related incidents in previous elections, intense political rivalry, serious armed threats, and if the area was previously
placed under the control of the Commission on Elections.

The areas are prioritized according to their color-coded category: green for peaceful, yellow for areas of concern, orange for areas of immediate concern and red for areas of grave concern.

The specific areas have yet to be identified. PNP Intelligence director Brig. Gen. Michael John Dubria said most of those under the red category are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Carlos said the classification system should not be construed negatively against any local government unit.

“It gives us ample opportunity to suppress criminality or to take a proactive approach in maintaining peace in the community,” he said.

Carlos said the color-coding system has been proven effective in strategizing and rationalizing deployment and mobilization of resources.