COMMISSION on Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said on Monday, there is a possibility that certain areas could be put under the control of the poll body if there are massive election violence, the presence of private armies and warlords.
Guanzon held a Consultative Dialogue at the MassKara Hall of the Bacolod City Government Center with the poll officers, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), officials of the Department of Education and the City and Provincial Treasurer’s Office which keep the ballot boxes, on April 30.
She said that one of the topics tackled during the meeting was the possibility of putting the hotspot areas under the command of the Comelec.
"The police and army can request for Comelec control. So I'll ask them if ever the situation warrants, they can ask for Comelec control and I will endorse it to the Comelec en banc,” she said.
She said the poll body will decide if a certain area will be put under Comelec Control.
“Once under Comelec control, the mayor could no longer exercise his power and functions as mayor, but we will put a Comelec officer,” Guanzon explained, adding the normal transactions will continue in that certain area even if it’s already under Comelec command.
She said all Comelec commissioners are busy going around the country in lieu of their preparation for the May 14 Barangay and SK elections. She said she is in charge of Western Visayas (Region 6) and Central Visayas (Region 7).
Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil Jr., director of Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office, earlier told SunStar Bacolod that they have already identified upland barangays in four towns of the province as election watch list areas (Ewas).
The barangays are in Moises Padilla, Salvador Benedicto, Calatrava, and Toboso.
"Negros has less election violence unlike in other areas. So we would like to keep it that way," Guanzon said.
Guanzon also said she wants Western Visayas to have zero illegal arrests as far as the Comelec gun ban is concerned and on checkpoints.
"We have previous reports that people find it hard because of numerous allegations of the improper conduct of checkpoints and illegal arrest. Again, we are reminding the PNP that our role in checkpoints is plain view. The weapons must be in plain view. If the police cannot see the weapons with their eyes, there is no reason to apprehend the person,” she said.
She added: “They cannot order the person to get out from his car, they cannot open the compartment, trunk or the bags inside the vehicle. It should only be in plain view because opening those things will require a search warrant.”
The utility box of the motorcycles cannot be opened also because only plain view is allowed, she added.
On the banning and alleged intervention of some politicians, Guanzon said that Comelec has not received any formal complaints pertaining to local politicians’ intervention.
"We urged them to maintain this election as non-partisan. We know that this election is very crucial to the 2019 elections but if we caught the politicians, we will enforce the law," she said.
Also prohibited during the upcoming May 14 elections is the hiring of employees and implementing projects that utilize barangay funds, she said.
"If a certain city or municipal government hires employees assigned to any city or municipal office that is not a violation. Projects using city or municipal funds are also not prohibited and even city or municipal employees assigned in certain barangays is also not prohibited," Guanzon said.
Meanwhile, she clarified that candidates who are in the narco-list cannot be disqualified.
"It will only affect his campaign. It would be up to the voters if they will still vote for those candidates who are involved in illegal drugs,” she said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) released on Monday the list of barangay leaders in the country who allegedly engaged in the illegal drug trade.
No barangay leaders from Negros Occidental were included in the list which contained 207 names.