Western, Central Visayas election hotspots marked

Security forces in Western and Central Visayas have come up with a final list of barangays marked as potential problem areas in Monday’s elections.

A total of 133 barangays in Western Visayas have considered as election watchlist areas (EWAs) or hotspots in Monday’s elections.

The final number was released by the Regional Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (RJPSCC), an inter-agency body chaired by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and validated by the Police Regional Office (PRO) and the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID).

A community is marked as a hotspot if it has a history of political violence or if the presence of New People’s Army (NPA) in the area has been confirmed.

Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, Western Visayas police chief, said Negros Occidental has the most number of barangays in the EWA list with 80.

In Iloilo, 28 barangays are election hotspots, 15 in Capiz, four in Aklan, and two in Antique.

Guimaras has no election hotspots, while Iloilo City has four.

A total of 8,511 police officers will be guarding 3,571 voting centers.

In Central Visayas, the bulk of the 8,000 personnel from the Police Regional Office and Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Central Command (Centcom) deployed for the elections will be assigned to EWAs.

The send-off ceremony for the personnel was held Friday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Officials from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) held their final security briefing last Thursday.