CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Pampanga police disclosed over the weekend that no potential hotspot in the province has so far been monitored in relation to the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on October 30, 2023.
In an interview over DwRW 95.1 FM's "Talakayan," Pampanga police director Colonel Levi Hope Basilio said they have been monitoring potential hotspots and "areas of concern."
"So far, we have not monitored any potential hotspot in Pampanga related to the upcoming elections. But we are vigilantly and continuously monitoring activities in all [505] Pampanga barangays which may disrupt peace and order," he said.
He said the police is strictly implementing Commission on Elections (Comelec) directives like the gun ban and carrying of deadly weapons during the election period which runs from August 28 to November 29.
During this period, the Comelec mandates the suspension of activities involving the carrying of firearms or other deadly weapons and the employment of security personnel or bodyguards by incumbent public officials, whether elected or appointed, as well as private individuals.
Aside from overseeing activities and assisting the Comelec during the election period, Basilio said the Pampanga police also maintaining peace and order in the province to ensure the safety of Kapampangans.
Police officers were deployed in campuses and in the vicinity of churches.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) disclosed on Monday that 246 "areas of grave concern" for the BSKE are mostly from Bicol, Eastern Visayas and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
PNP spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said the areas are under the red category of the election hotspot list.
Comelec has the control and authority to improvise and augment security forces in the identified areas.
She explained the color-coded hotspot classification "green" refers to areas that do not have security concerns and are generally peaceful and orderly; yellow for areas of concern that have a history of election-related incidents in the last elections, possible employment of partisan armed groups, occurrence of politically motivated election-related cases and had been previously declared under Comelec control; and orange, for areas of immediate concern where there is a serious armed threat.
Fajardo said that 1,248 villages are under the orange category while 1,100 are under the yellow category.