In Western Visayas 129 'election hotspots' identified

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — From 154 barangays, the election watchlist of areas (EWAs), commonly known as election hotspots, in Region 6 (Western Visayas) was trimmed down to 129 in the run-up to the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

Authorities came up with the decreased number during the Visayas Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center meeting held at Camp Delgado in Iloilo City on Friday (May 4). The JSCC, a multi-sector body activated to ensure the peaceful conduct of elections, is chaired by the Comelec.

The meeting was attended by ranking officials of the Police Regional Offices of Regions 6, 7, and 8, as well as Director Rolando Felix of the PNP-Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) Visayas.

Also present were military officials - Lieutenant General Paul Atal, AFP Central Command chief; Brigadier General Dinoh Dolina, commander of the 3rd Infantry Battalion; and Brigadier General Pio Diñoso of the 301st Infantry Battalion. Representing the Comelec-6 was assistant regional director Tomas Valera.

Senior Superintendent Jesus Cambay, Jr., PRO-6 deputy regional director for operations, said the number of EWAs is based on their validation on May 4. "The number could change depending on the prevailing situation," he said, adding that the number is around 3.18 percent of Western Visayas' 4,051 villages.

Based on PRO-6 records, 35 of the 129 of barangays were in Category 1; 87 in Category 2; and seven in Category 3.

Category 1 means barangays that have politically-motivated violent incidents due to intense partisan and political rivalries. Category 2 is a barangay with armed threats from organized groups like the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA). Category 3 consists of barangay where both factors, under the two other categories, are present.

Most of these areas are in Negros Occidental with 77 barangays - three each under Categories 1 and 3, and 71 in Category 2. Iloilo province has 28 barangays under EWAs, Capiz has 15, Aklan has four, Iloilo City has three, and Antique has two. Bacolod City and Guimaras province has no barangay listed under EWAs.