Tuesday, April 03, 2007 PNP, Comelec tag Bantayan in Cebu, La Libertad, Negros areas of concern By Mia E. Abellana Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE whole island of Bantayan in Cebu and the town of La Libertad, Oriental Negros were named election areas of concern by the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7.
They will also be keeping a tight watch on Canlaon City and the rest of the first congressional district of Oriental Negros.
PRO 7 Director Silverio Alarcio Jr. and Comelec 7 Director Rene Rey Buac met at the PRO 7 yesterday to assess the peace and order of Central Visayas.
“The region is very peaceful. We hope it will stay that way. Anyway, no news is good news,” Buac told reporters.
Alarcio said that aside from these towns that are being watched, Central Visayas is relatively quiet.
La Libertad will be first on their list after a barangay captain and his companions were shot.
In Canlaon, a mayor’s bodyguard was also shot dead. However, Alarcio said it was still too soon to say if politics had something to do with the shooting as they are still looking into the man’s background.
Tension in the three towns of Bantayan also made them decide to declare the island an election area of concern.
However, he said the situation can still change, depending on the political developments in each town.
Alarcio has also ordered his personnel to neutralize a political armed group based in Canlaon City.
He said this group was known to enlist the services of politicians willing to pay them. He did not elaborate.
Alarcio has already visited all police stations in the region and has reminded them to “remain neutral, apolitical and non-partisan.”
Regarding the security of candidates, he said they will prioritize those who have existing threats although they will provide assistance to anyone who asks for it.
The PRO 7 has begun consolidating a list of police personnel who have relatives running for office so they can be transferred to other areas.
Alarcio said they will also include in the transfer those police chiefs who have served more than two years in their assigned units.
As for those personnel who want to avail of the local absentee voting scheme, the voting will be held at the PRO 7.
Buac said police personnel will drop their ballots in a sealed box, which will then be transported to the Comelec main office in Manila where a special board of election inspectors will count their votes.
