The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday, Aug. 28, said it is bracing for an “intense” Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election (BSKE).

“Asahan natin na talagang magiging napakainit ng labanan na ito sapagkat napakahaba termino nung nakaraang Barangay and SK officials at nakailang postpone din tayo kaya asahan natin na medyo mas maiinit ito (Let's expect that this elections will indeed be very intense because the previous Barangay and SK officials had very long terms, and we also had several postponements, so let's anticipate that this will be somewhat more heated),” said Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia in an interview during the first day of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) filing.
Garcia said that the degree of “possible tension” would also depend on who will be running for a specific post.
“Tandaan natin na almost 642,000 ang position na fi-fill upan dahil iyan ay SK at Barangay (Let's remember that almost 642,000 positions need to be filled up because those are for SK and Barangay),” Garcia said.
“Inaasahan natin na higit pa nga na two million ang magpa-file ng kanilang COC para sa mga posisyon na iyan (We expect that more than two million will file their COCs for those positions),” he added.
27 areas under ‘Red’ category
During a command conference with other Peace and Order agencies, Garcia said that based on the scenario they have presented, there are 27 areas under “Category Red” so far.
“Hindi pa ibinibigay kung ano-ano ang mga lugar na ito kasi may posibilidad na magbago pero tinitingnan natin iyan, inaalam natin alin sa 27 na iyan ang pwedeng ilagay under Comelec control (The specific locations are not yet provided as they might change, but we are looking into it, determining which among those 27 can be placed under Comelec control,” Garcia said.
These areas, he explained, are located in Regions 5, 6, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). In particular, he mentioned Negros Oriental and some areas in Northern Luzon.
These 27 areas, Garcia said, are a combination of provinces, cities as well as municipalities.
Once the Philippine National Police (PNP) submits the said list, Garcia said Comelec will also provide a copy to the public.
Despite this, Garcia said that Comelec is pleased to see aspirants flocking to various venues to file their COCs on the first day.
READ:
“Isa lang ang ibig sabihin niyan, at least po, sa ating mga kababayan, asahan po ninyo na makakapamili kayo ng as maayos para sa ating mga barangay (It only means on thing, at least for our fellow countrymen, you can expect that you will be able to choose well for our barangays),” he added.
The COC filiing will be until Sept. 2. Comelec said the BSKE will be on Oct. 30.
RELATED STORY: