By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Occidental has identified 12 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental under “areas of concern” for the upcoming May 2022 National and Local Elections.

Comelec Negros Occidental elections supervisor, Atty. Roberto Salazar, said they identified the LGUs based on the available parameters and set them in three categories:

• Category 1 Areas of Concern – areas that have intense political rivalry and have a history of election-related violence.
• Category 2 – “areas of immediate concern” due to the presence of private armed groups or communist insurgent groups.
• Category 3 – “areas of grave concern” which have a combination of the two categories above.

Salazar identified only one Category 1 area in Negros Occidental, the town of Don Salvador Benedicto.

Under Category 2 are the towns of Manapla, Toboso, Binalbagan, Hinoba-an, and the cities of Silay, Victorias, Himamaylan, and Kabankalan.

While LGUs that fall under Category 3 areas are the towns of Candoni and Moises Padilla, and Escalante City.

The categorization in the LGUs are also based on Comelec Resolution No. 10481 which was released during the 2019 elections, although the list could still change if the Comelec central office releases a new resolution for the 2022 polls.

Salazar also clarified that the Comelec is not the one that identifies the areas of concern, but the responsibility falls under the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) wherein their recommendation is submitted before the Regional Joint Security Control Center in Western Visayas, which is headed by the Comelec regional director, the Police Regional Office 6 director, and the commander of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.

Previously, only the LGUs of Escalante City and Moises Padilla were identified as “areas of concern in the upcoming polls. “/DGB, WDJ