Sunday, April 15, 2007 Comelec to consider 4 Kalinga towns as immediate areas of concern
THE Commission on Elections-Kalinga is currently determining if the Municipalities of Pinukpuk, Pasil, Lubuagan and Tanudan would be considered as areas of immediate concern in the province based on past election incidents.
Provincial Election Officer Thomas Uyam said there had been reports of ballot-snatching and threats in the identified municipalities during the 2004 local elections, prompting the Comelec to include these areas in the list of immediate areas of concern.
Asked whether Tabuk would be included in the list due to the recent killing of gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Vice Gov. Rommel Diasen, he said it is a possibility since the incident is already a manifestation that there is the presence of armed threat in the locality.
He said a place could be identified as an area of immediate concern if there are manifestations of armed threats like the presence of loose firearms, insurgency, coercion or ballot snatching.
He said the Philippine National Police could likewise recommend a place as an immediate area of concern if there are manifestations of armed threat and that the PNP needs to augment its forces to ensure the security and peace situation in a certain area.
Meanwhile, Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said the commissioners and other field officers would conduct a field visit if there were still areas to be placed under Comelec control.
The move came after the deaths of Diasen and Petronilo Amorin Jr., the poll body's officer in Palawan province.
He said they would personally assess the peace and order in these places. The Comelec may also augment military forces stationed in Kalinga and Puerto Princesa City following said incidents.
