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Visayas Command ready for village, SK polls in October

By John Rey Saavedra

May 23, 2023, 6:45 pm

<p><strong>POLL SECURITY</strong>. Visayas Command chief Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo talks to the Army troops, in this undated photo. Arevalo on Monday (May 23, 2023) said the military units in the Visayas are ready to secure 158 election watchlist areas in the Central, Eastern and Western Visayas regions in connection with the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.<em> (PNA file photo)</em></p>

POLL SECURITY. Visayas Command chief Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo talks to the Army troops, in this undated photo. Arevalo on Monday (May 23, 2023) said the military units in the Visayas are ready to secure 158 election watchlist areas in the Central, Eastern and Western Visayas regions in connection with the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. (PNA file photo)

CEBU CITY – Military units in the central Philippines are preparing to secure at least 158 election watchlist areas (EWA) in the Central, Eastern and Western Visayas regions in the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Visayas Command (Viscom) chief Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are ready to perform crucial tasks just to make sure that the BSKE on Oct. 20 will be peaceful and orderly.

Arevalo said Viscom is constantly communicating with lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Commission on Election (Comelec) regional director, in establishing peace and security plans for the BSKE, especially in the hotspot areas amid the recent violence in Negros Oriental.

He said they also made initial coordination with the PNP and the Philippine Coast Guard.

“Once deputized, we will have enough personnel to support the PNP and Comelec on this undertaking. At present, we continue to assist our PNP counterpart in validating the election watchlist areas in the region since this will be the basis of our security deployment during the election,” Arevalo told the Philippine News Agency in a message.

Lt. Col. Israel Galorio, Viscom’s spokesperson, said a total of 158 areas throughout the Visayas region has been considered as EWAs.

Of this number, 37 are in Western Visayas, 63 are in Central Visayas, mostly concentrated in Negros Oriental in view of the killing of Governor Roel Degamo and nine others, while 58 are in Eastern Visayas.

Galorio said 40 of these areas are classified as areas of concern, 92 are classified as areas of immediate concern, while 26 are classified as areas of grave concern.

Despite the threat to peace in Negros Oriental, Arevalo assured the public that their efforts in ensuring the safety and security in the region will never waver.

“Our troops are highly motivated and are ready to perform our mandate,” he added.

In March, Viscom said it conducted a security risk assessment in all the localities in the Visayas in relation to the election this year. (PNA)

 

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