BANGUED, Abra – Nine towns in the province have been placed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as potential election areas of concern because of their history of intense political rivalry and the occurrence of election-related violence and incidents in the past.
Based on the proceedings of the recent Regional Joint Security Command Center (RJSCC) command conference, six municipalities were categorized under yellow while three towns have been classified under orange category.
The municipalities that had been placed under yellow category are Lagayan, Pidigan, Tayum, and Tineg while the municipalities under orange category are Bangued, Bucay and Pialr.
The yellow areas are sites of intense political rivalry among the contending politicians while those under the orange category are characterized by the presence of election-related violence and incidents during the past two elections.
Bangued was placed under the orange category because of the combination of intense political rivalry among contending political camps and history of election-related incidents during the past two elections.
Further, Bucay was also placed under the orange category due to alleged intense political rivalry among contending political camps and having recorded three election-related violence and incidents during the past two elections while Pilar was also classified under the orange category due to intense political rivalry and three election-related incidents for the past two elections and was placed under Comelec control during the May 2022 elections.
However, the categorization of these municipalities is still expected to change as the May 12, 2025 mid-term elections comes closer with the Philippine National Police (PNP) reviving the Task Force Abra to oversee the conduct of the elections in the province. By Dexter A. See
