Negros Oriental remains a concern, Comelec Negros Island Region (NIR) Regional Director Atty. Leonil Marco Castillano said.
He said there is no political closure yet in Negros Oriental and that's the reason why the regional office of NIR is temporarily stationed in Negros Oriental.
However, Castillano said they had not monitored the presence of any private Armed groups in Negros Oriental and that so far there have been no political-related incidents reported.
He said the security situation in Negros Oriental would be determined after the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy.
The security concern in Negros Oriental is still related to the killings of the late Governor Roel Degamo and nine others on March 4, 2023.
Negros Oriental was put under Comelec's control during the October 30, 2023 Barangay election.
Meanwhile, Castillano revealed that he was instructed by Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia to find means to pay the honorarium of teachers amounting to P5,000 each for serving as support staff during the Barangay elections.
Still unpaid are 616 teachers' support staff in Kabankalan City and 225 in Himamaylan City.
" We want to assure the safety of teachers serving the elections. We
already made representations with the mayors of Kabankalan and Himamaylan regarding the matter," Castillano said. (TDE)