DAVAO CITY – The Police Regional Office (PRO-11) is now in the process of evaluating areas in Davao Region for inclusion in election watch list for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on May 14.
“We are in the process of consolidating election watchlist areas or areas of concern. For now, I believe that it is already at the provincial level,” said Chief Insp. Milgrace Driz, spokesperson for PRO-11.
Driz said the Provincial Security Joint Coordinating Committee created led by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) convened Tuesday to identify the election watch list areas.
Driz said some areas have been identified with the presence of communist group and private armed groups based on the record of the previous election.
Driz also said that PRO 1I is implementing the anti-criminality campaign through the programs like Olan Kalinaw of the Davao City Police Office.
Oplan Kalinaw has been replicated by other provincial police offices as an effective way of identifying persons with warrants of arrest and areas that need more focus.
In a separate interview, Alex Roldan, regional director of the Department of Interior and Local government (DILG) 11, said the agency is still waiting for the official list of areas of concern from the military and police and the list of barangay officials giving money to the New People’s Army in exchange for a permit to campaign and assurance to win the election.
“Of course it is illegal. We discouraged that dili manpud gud ta privy sa agreement between the barangay officials in the area. It is one of the problems during an election if there is insurgency (but we are not also privy on the agreement between the barangay officials in the area. It is one of the problems during an election if there is a problem of the insurgency),” Roldan said.
“I also ask the candidates this is an election we should not do it personally. Remember that our future in the country depends on the capability of the barangay officials,” Roldan added. (Rhoda Grace Saron/PNA)
