BAGUIO CITY – Some eleven towns in two Cordillera provinces were initially placed under areas of concern by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the upcoming May 12, 2025 mid-term elections
Nine towns in Abra and a municipality in Kalinga were placed under the yellow category while another Abra town was classified under the orange category.
Those in the yellow category are Bangued, Dolores, Lagangilang, Licuan-Baay, Malibcong, Penarubia, Pidigan and Tayum, all in Abra and Lubuagan in Kalinga while Bucay, Abra was classified under the orange category.
The Comelec stated that the rest of Cordillera had been placed under the green category because the said areas have no security concern or had remained relatively peaceful and orderly during the conduct of the past several elections.
Based on Comelec Resolution No. 11067, the classification of election areas of concern had been established such as the green, yellow, orange and red categories.
The areas that will be placed under green category are those with no security concerns or is considered by the authorities as relatively peaceful and orderly even during the previous conduct of the political exercise.
For those that will be under the yellow category, the areas have recorded occurrence of suspected election-related violence and incidents (ERVIs) in the last two elections, provided, that there was no participation of suspected terror groups; existence of intense partisan political rivalry with no participation of domestic terror groups; possible employment of private armed groups or potential armed groups by candidates in the area; occurrence of politically motivated election violence and incidents in the current election period provided that there is no participation of domestic terror groups and area has been previously declared under Comelec control.
Areas under the orange category are those having a combination of two or more factors under the yellow category and serious armed threats posed by communist-terrorist or other threat groups as may be declared by the competent authorities.
For areas that will be placed under the red category, the said places exhibit the existence of one or more factors described under the yellow category, together with serious armed threats posed by the various groups or threat groups as my be declared by the competent authorities under category orange and declaration by other government agencies that either one of the grounds for the declaration of Comelec control exists.
The Comelec said that the existing list is being validated and that an updated one will be released after January 20, 2025.
For the past several elections, the Cordillera, except for Abra, had remained peaceful and orderly in the conduct of the political exercises.
The 120-day election period prior to the conduct of the May 12, 2025 mid-term elections will take effect on January 12, 2025 and that it will expire 30 days after the conduct of the elections that falls on June 11, 2025.
One of the stringent rules that will be implemented during the election period is the ban on the carrying of firearms outside the residence of the concerned individuals as the same will be considered an election offense. By Dexter A. See
