Candoni in Negros Occidental has been recommended to be placed under the orange category for the May polls, Lionel Marco Castillano, Commission on Elections -Negros Island Region (NIR) director, said Tuesday, March 18.
In Negros Oriental Guihulngan City and La Libertad have been recommended to be placed under the red category, Basay – orange and the rest of the province under the yellow category, he added.
The entire Siquijor is under the green category.
The recommendations will be discussed at the NIR Regional Joint Security Control Center meeting at the Army’s 302nd Brigade headquarters in Tanjay, Negros Oriental, on Wednesday, Castillano said.
Castillano said the inclusion of Candoni town may be related to the New People’s Army threat in the area.
La Libertad was recommended for the red category following the burning of heavy equipment by members of the New People’s Army in the town, Castillano said.
Basay was recommended to be placed under the orange category due to election related violence in the past.
The remaining towns and cities in Negros Oriental are in the yellow category because during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections the entire province was under COMELEC control.
One of the criteria for placing an area under the red category is the presence of armed threat groups that could mar the conduct of the elections.
Green refers to areas that do not have security concerns and are generally peaceful and orderly, yellow are areas that have a history of election-related incidents in the last two elections, and orange are areas of immediate concern where there are serious armed threats.
Areas under the red category meet the parameters for yellow and have serious threats posed by communist-terrorist groups or other threat groups, the Comelec said.*CPG with a report from PNA