Saturday, July 07, 2007 Zambo island barangays possible poll hotspots By Bong Garcia
AN OFFICIAL of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disclosed that some of the island barangays in Zamboanga City are probable areas of immediate concerns in the forthcoming synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
District I election officer Roy Cuevas said he had already requested the police and military to conduct evaluation to determine how many of the barangays would be declared areas of concern and areas of immediate concern.
There are a total of 11 island barangays in this city, one of which falls under Cuevas' jurisdiction while 10 under the supervision of District II election officer Jesus Posadas.
Cuevas said there were bloody incidents that had taken place in the island barangays during the barangay elections in 2002.
Some of the island barangays in the second district are being used by lawless elements as jump-off points in the commission of atrocities.
Cuevas said there is a need to identify early the probable areas of immediate concerns so that proper security measures could be put in place before the start of the campaign period.
He said that elections anomalies, like vote buying, might also take place in the island barangays during the barangay elections in October, this year.
