By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) said Bacolod City is not included among the “areas of concern” for the upcoming May 2022 National and Local Elections.

The findings were made during the City Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council meeting led by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

BCPO spokesperson, Police Lt. Colonel Sherlock Gabana, said based on the city’s history, it has not recorded any election-related violence or heated confrontation between rival political parties.

Gabana said overall, the city’s politics is peaceful.

However, he still advised the city’s electoral candidates to become role models for a peaceful election.

Earlier, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) and the Comelec provincial office confirmed that Escalante City and the town of Moises Padilla were identified as election “hotspots” either due to the presence of armed groups and communist insurgents, or due to a history of election-related violence.

A third local government unit is also being eyed as an election hotspot, although the Comelec has yet to identify the town or city in question./DGB, WDJ