19 ‘hot spots’ in focus during midterm elections
MANILA: Police reported they are closely monitoring at least 19 “hot spots,”mainlyduetounabatedviolence with most of them located in restive Mindanao as the election period for the coming May 2019 midterm polls starts on Sunday.
Superintendent Kim Molintas, the deputy spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), explained that most of the 19 towns and cities have a history of violence in past elections particularly in provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Molintas said the number of these hot spots could increase, depending on the close PNP monitoring before these areas are to be recommended and placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
This means that once they are under Comelec control, the agency has the sole authority over the military and the police, “including the security, deployment of troops and policemen and if need be a reshufle of their men in the affected areas to keep the elections free from violence and other poll anomalies,” said Shariff Abbas, the Comelec chairman.
In the May 2016 presidential election won by Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte, the longtime mayor of his hometown of Davao City in Mindanao, the PNP reported over 133 poll-related violent incidents, with 48 killed and 50 others wounded, most of them supporters of politicians.
At stake in the coming May 2019 midterm polls are 12 senators to be elected nationally as well as regional, provincial and local positions such as governors, congressmen, mayors as well as members of city and municipal councils.
This developed as James Jimenez, the Comelec spokesman, told media that candidates are to come up with all sorts of campaign gimmicks as the country is to observe the start of the election period on Sunday.
“I think 2019 is the year of innovative campaign strategies, for sure,” said Jimenez citing as an example of a panty that went viral on Facebook because it bore the name of a woman running for councilor in suburban Quezon City, Metro Manila.
He pointed out there is no law banning the distribution of women’s underwear bearing the name of a candidate and being used as a campaign material during election time but admitted it may be “inappropriate” to some.