Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, September 7, that he is confident that there will be peaceful elections in the 55 barangays in Negros Occidental recommended to be tagged as election areas of concern.
“These are the barangays where there were incidents between the military and the CPP-NPA” but they were not recommended to be placed under Comelec control, he said.
“While there is concern we are confident that there will be peaceful elections in those areas”, he said.
The Provincial Joint Security Coordinating Center (PJSCC) had recommended 55 election areas of concern in Negros Occidental, Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said Tuesday, September 5.
However, this has to be approved by the Comelec that will then make an announcement, he said, with the election period for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls having already started.
The parameters for identifying election areas of concern are the presence of heightened political rivalry, the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army or private armed groups, he said.*