By JEN BAYLON
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) said there are currently no areas of concern for the 2025 midterm elections in the province.
NOCPPO spokesperson, Police Captain Judesses Catalogo said Negros Occidental remains classified under the green category, indicating a low risk for election-related violence.
“We appreciate that Negros Occidental has maintained its status, but we will continue to monitor and focus on areas that may become hotspots as the election approaches,” Catalogo said.
Gathered intelligence indicates that there have been no reported incidents involving local candidates ahead of the election campaign, he said.
Catalogo also emphasized the importance of vigilance and preparedness as the May 12 national and local election nears.
For the midterm elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) uses color coding in classifying election hotspots, such as green, yellow, orange, and red categories.
Green category refers to areas that do not have security concerns and are generally peaceful and orderly.
Yellow category indicates “areas of concern,” which means that these have a history of election-related incidents in the last two elections and intense political rivalry, and these had been previously declared under Comelec control.
Orange category lists the “areas of immediate concern” where there is a serious armed threat posed by the New People’s Army and other lawless elements.
Red category means “areas of grave concern,” which exhibit combined factors under the yellow and orange categories that may warrant the motu proprio (on its own) declaration of Comelec control.
Meanwhile, in line with maintaining security for the polls, the NOCPPO announced that a gun ban and liquor ban will be implemented starting January 12 until June 11.
“We are committed to ensuring the safety of our citizens during this critical period,” Catalogo added.
The Comelec will also start setting up checkpoints nationwide on Saturday, January 11, as part of the preparations for the national and local elections.
The poll body said the “plain view doctrine” will be observed at the checkpoints.
This means motorists only need to lower their windows and turn on the lights inside their vehicles when passing through the checkpoints.
Two million registered voters in Negros Occidental are expected to cast their votes for the 2025 midterm elections, with 983,866 registered male and 1,025,698 female voters, the Comelec said.
Comelec-Negros Occidental election supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria said the province is divided into seven legislative districts, which span 19 municipalities and 13 cities, including capital Bacolod City.
A total of 13,004 precincts, clustered into 2,484 voting centers, have been established to facilitate the voting process.
Comelec-NegOcc has been working to ensure that the necessary infrastructure and security measures are in place to support a smooth electoral process across all precincts./ With reports from PNA / JB, WDJ