At least 105 municipalities and 15 cities nationwide were proposed to be declared by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as areas of concern or places where election-related violence may occur, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.
"We already have the list of election areas of concern or what we call the hotspots, particularly the red tagged areas. I think we have about 15 cities and 105 municipalities," DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said.
The Philippine National Police (PNP), which is supervised by the DILG, explained that it used previous records to determine and come up with the list of areas that should be declared as areas of concern.
In deciding what cities and municipalities are included in the monitoring list, PNP chief Dionardo Carlos said they looked at the historical data of the last two elections to determine the areas where the presence of possible threat groups or private armed groups (PAGs) are strong, as well as the latest validation of the situation on the ground.
He noted that the PNP is also coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to "further validate information on some 300 localities recommended to be categorized as election areas of concern."
Año pointed out that the uniformed personnel were ordered to remain impartial in performing their duties during the election campaign period and on the day itself of the May 9 poll.
“That’s the standing order: we are ready to prosecute anyone within the department or within the uniformed services under the DILG to go after any violator or anyone who will play politics. Iyan ang assurance namin sa public we will do our job properly," Año said.
The list of the areas of concern previously referred to as election hotspots has not been revealed yet subject to further validation.
“We hope that within the week or within what's left of the week we will be able to release the list,’’ Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said, citing that the validation is necessary to make sure that the declaration would cause minimal disruption to the lives of the residents.