BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday categorized 12 towns and cities in Negros Occidental as “election areas of concern” due to intense political rivalries and history of poll-related violence.
The presence of private armed groups, New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas and other threat groups were also among the reasons cited for placing these areas under such category.
Provincial Comelec supervisor Roberto Salazar said there might be changes in the list as the Comelec has yet to issue a resolution on the matter.
There are three categories for the election watch list areas: areas of concern, areas of immediate concern and areas of grave concern.
A town or city may be categorized as an area of concern if it has a history of poll-related incidents and occurrence of intense political rivalries.
Areas of immediate concern are those known for the presence of NPA rebels and private armed groups, or both.
Areas of grave concern are those that possess the combined aspects of the areas of concern and immediate concern, according to Salazar.
The town of Don Salvador Benedicto was included under areas of concern.
The cities of Binalbagan, Himamaylan, Hinobaan, Kabankalan, Manapla, Silay, Toboso and Victorias were classified as areas of immediate concern.
Listed under areas of grave concern were the towns of Candoni and Moises Padilla as well as Escalante City.
During the 2019 elections, Moises Padilla was placed under Comelec control due to intense political rivalries and occurrence of election-related incidents, which reportedly involved partisan armed groups and NPAs.