By Allen Estabillo | Philippine News Agency
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Police authorities in Sarangani are closely monitoring areas in the province identified as potential hotspots or “areas of concern” in previous elections.
Col. Nicomedes Olaivar Jr., Sarangani police director, said Wednesday (Oct. 6) that their personnel have been regularly evaluating the security situation in the concerned areas in coordination with other law enforcers.
He did not name the specific areas but the Commission on Elections (Comelec) 12 (Soccsksargen) classified two of the province’s seven municipalities – Maitum and Kiamba – under “category red-delta” or hotspots in the 2019 local and national midterm elections.
The two towns were among the six identified then as election hotspots in Soccsksargen based on the “history of election-related violence, monitored intense partisan political rivalry, and serious threats from armed groups.”
Olaivar said they are mainly assessing whether the identified threats in the “areas of concern” are still present and could emerge anew.
“We’re getting information from concerned constituents and our counterpart friendly forces,” the police official said in an interview over the Radio Mindanao Network here.
He said they will come up with contingency plans for these areas as well as other necessary measures as part of their preparations for the May 2022 local and national elections.
The Sarangani Police Provincial Office is currently on full alert in line with the ongoing filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs), which will end on Friday (Oct. 8 ).
Olaivar said they earlier deployed teams to secure the Comelec offices as well as other strategic areas in the province.
The Police Regional Office-12 also ordered the assigned police personnel to ensure that health and safety protocols against the coronavirus disease 2019 are followed by the candidate and their supporters.
“It’s smooth sailing so far, almost 90 percent of the projected candidates have already filed their COCs,” he said. (PNA) – bny
