24 towns, 4 cities placed under Comelec control

MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-four towns and four cities across the country have been placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) due to security threats related to the May 9 polls, according to the Philippine National Police.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said these areas, which she did not identify,  would be the focus of the deployment of PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard personnel.

Early this week, Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan said the entire province of Misamis Occidental and Pilar, Abra were added to the areas placed under the control of the poll body.

The Comelec said two areas were reportedly “riddled” with election-related violence.

Tubaran, Malabang, Maguing and Marawi City in Lanao del Sur as well as the towns of Buluan, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Piang, Mangudadatu, Pandag and Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao have also been placed under Comelec control.

The PNP gave assurance that all measures are in place to ensure the safety and security of the elections.

Fajardo said 14 election-related incidents have so far been recorded, which is lower compared to the 133 in 2016 and 60 in 2019.

“We are hoping that the 14 validated election incidents as of May 4 will not increase,” she said.

The PNP said it would activate its monitoring teams to assist the Comelec against vote-buying.

“We will be closely coordinating with the Comelec with respect to these reports and we will be assisting the Comelec in the filing of cases relative to reports of vote-buying,” Fajardo said.

‘Rampant vote-buying’

In Bulacan, police have been receiving reports of alleged rampant vote-buying.

However, Col. Charlie Cabradilla, newly installed acting Bulacan police director, said no one has come out to confirm such claims.

He said such allegations could only be a ”gimmick” of some politicians.

Cabradilla said no election-related incident has been reported in Bulacan since the campaign period started.

He said 1,468 police personnel were deployed at various polling centers in the province to secure and maintain the integrity of the elections on Monday.

The provincial election monitoring and action center was reactivated at Camp General Alejo Santos in Malolos to monitor 12,659 voting precincts in the province. – Ramon Efren Lazaro