CEBU CITY – Law enforcement agencies in the Visayas have started preparing for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in October.
The Visayas Command (Viscom), Area Police Command (APC)-Visayas, and the Philippine Coast Guard-Central Visayas discussed the needed preparations during the recent first quarter Visayas Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (VJPSCC) meeting.
“Election is fast approaching and preparations must be made as early as possible," said Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of Viscom.
The APC-Visayas reported that a total of 158 areas in the Visayas fall under the Election Watchlist Areas (EWAs), 37 of which are in Region 6, 63 are in Region 7, and 58 are in Region 8.
Of the 158 EWAs in the Visayas, 40 fall under the classification of areas of concern; 92 are classified as areas of immediate concern, while 26 are classified as areas of grave concern.
Arevalo said Viscom and its counterparts will start assessing the threats relative to the election.
“Let us start assessing our EWAs, the private armed groups, and even the threats to our politicians. As we have learned, the threat to our politicians continues even after the election. So, they should be monitored not only before and during the election, but also even after the election,” Arevalo said
Per Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 10902, the election period will be from Aug. 28 to Nov. 29 of this year. The campaign period will be from Oct. 19 to 28 and the Election Day will be on Oct. 30.
Based on the classifications made by the Comelec, the Philippine National Police, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, areas of concern are areas with election-related incidents in the past two elections, with intense political rivalry, and with the presence of armed groups.
Areas of immediate concern are areas with the presence of New People’s Army, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and other threat groups that may disrupt the election.
Areas of grave concern are areas with the presence of all elements from both areas of concern and areas of immediate concern.