By Dexter A. See
CAMP DANGWA, La Trinidad, Benguet — With the May 20 elections just around the corner, intense political rivalry among feuding politicians has resulted in the increasing number of areas in the Cordillera that will be placed under the watchlist of the Commission on Elections and the Philippine National Police.
From the original 19 towns in the region that were declared under the election watch list, Chief Supt. Villamor A. Bumanglag, regional police director, said the areas under the election watch list increased to 33 towns after assessment conducted by law enforcement agencies.
Out of the areas now under the election watch list, 19 towns are located in the conflict-stricken province of Abra, seven towns are in Mountain Province, four municipalities in Kalinga, and three towns in the remote province of Apayao.
However, the regional police office withheld names of areas included in the election watch list.
Bumanglag said the region is generally peaceful during the conduct of the elections except for Abra, thus, security preparations have been set in place.
Since the start of the 45-day campaign period for local officials, the police official claimed no untoward incidents were recorded in other parts of the region which means that the campaign for clean, honest, peaceful, and orderly elections is gaining ground even in remote places.
The Cordillera has a total of six provinces, two cities, and 76 municipalities with a total voting population of over 909,823 registered voters.
Despite the prevalence of peace and order in most parts of the region, Bumanglag said there should be no time for law enforcers to relax because violence could happen anytime even in the most peaceful places in the country.
The areas under the election watchlist are classified into two categories, those with previous history of election-related violence and incidents, and those under the influence of armed groups such as private armies and communist rebels.
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