SIBULAN, Negros Oriental, April 27 (PIA) -- The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have yet to place any part of Negros Oriental under “Areas of Concern" (AOC) in view of the upcoming polls.
COMELEC Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said they still could not give an exact figure and specific details on the number of AOCs in the province as the COMELEC Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns (CBSFC) together with the two agencies tasked to provide security on Election Day are continuously assessing and verifying the situation on the ground.
“Nag-submit sa amin ng pagkakapal-kapal na folder ang PNP at military. Ito po ay isang coordinated effort na sinubmit sa amin. We also have our gun ban and security personnel committee na nag-aanalyze po ng lahat ng ito. So kung bakit wala pa ang Negros? Simply because of the constantly changing assessment in the area (The PNP and the military have submitted to us thick folders. We also have our gun ban and security personnel committee which analyzes all of this. As to why there is still no area declared in Negros? Simply because of the constantly changing assessment in the area),” Garcia said.
The COMELEC official together with PNP-7 Regional Director PBGen. Eduardo Roque Vega and LTG. Rober Dauz of the Philippine Army who is now the commander of the AFP Visayas Command appeared in a press conference here on April 25, which coincided with the conduct of the Covenant Signing for Clean, Honest, Meaningful, and Peaceful (CHAMP) Elections in Negros Oriental and a Regional Joint Security Coordinating Center (RJSCC) Conference.
Garcia, however, noted in the same press conference that there are 104 areas throughout the country that are being eyed as AOCs.
He added there is no indication for any part of Negros Oriental to be placed under AOC as of the moment.
Garcia assured the media and the public that the COMELEC will release the list of AOCs in the first part of May.