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Wednesday, April 28, 2004
4 election areas of concern defused: PNP
By Claudine C. Dumalag
* Province has ‘better political climate’ in this year's May 10 local and national polls as compared to 2001 elections
THE Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office already excluded four areas of concern in the province.
Supt. Mark Edison Belarma, police provincial director, named these local government units as the cities of Cadiz and Escalante and the towns of Moises Padilla and Calatrava.
The Commission on Elections and the police categorized LGUs as areas of concern because of the intense political rivalry or the presence of armed groups in the area.
As to why the four localities were no longer considered areas of concern, Belarma did not elaborate.
He said though that the provincial police will still continue to monitor the four areas.
As to the other areas still considered areas of concern, Belarma said: "Today, we give more focus on the cities of Talisay (due to the voter's list deletion) and Himamaylan due to the reported intense political rivalry."
He stressed though that the province has a "better political climate" in this year's May 10 local and national polls as compared to the 2001 elections when he was still the commander of the 6th Regional Mobile Group based in Victorias City.
He, however, ordered all provincial chiefs of police to always maintain the peace and order in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
He further said that every police officer should also be non-partisan and should avoid campaigning for any political candidate.
As for the areas of concern in Western Visayas, Chief Supt. George Aliño, police regional director, recently disclosed that 48 areas are being monitored and were labeled as areas of concern.
Two reserve provisional battalions composed of more than 700 policemen each, including the newly trained PNP Scouts, are now ready for deployment in these areas, said Aliño.
(April 28, 2004 issue)
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