BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Seventeen local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental are being eyed as “election watchlist areas” (EWAs) for the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
These are Don Salvador Benedicto town which was tagged an “area of concern”; the cities of Silay, Victorias, Himamaylan, Kabankalan, and Sipalay; the towns of Toboso, Binalbagan, Isabela, La Castellana, Calatrava, Ilog, and Cauayan as “areas of immediate concern”; and the towns of Candoni and Moises Padilla, and Escalante City as “areas of grave concern”.
The list was submitted during the first quarter Visayas Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center meeting in Cebu on March 29.
The meeting was attended by the officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Visayas Command (AFP-Viscom), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Coast Guard.
Lieutenant General Benedict Arevalo, AFP-Viscom commander, said they will reassess and validate the list of LGUs prior to the October 30 polls.
Based on classifications made by the Commission on Elections, PNP and AFP, those tagged as EWAs are places that have history of intense political rivalry, presence of armed insurgents, or both./PN
