"We do away with the term election hot spots. But just the same we have no election areas of immediate concern in Metro Manila at this time," said Varilla in an interview.
Varilla gave his five police district directors and 37 station commanders up to Jan. 14 to submit the list of "election areas of concern" and private armies so that they can institute necessary measures to curb the problem.
He said an area can be considered an "election area of concern" if there is intense political rivalry, incidents of violent incidents, cases of ballots snatching and a history political harassment from 1998 to 2004.
Based on reports submitted to his office, the NCRPO chief identified three possible areas of concern as Pasay City, Caloocan City and Pasig City.
To ensure the holding of honest, orderly and peaceful elections (HOPE) in the three cities, Varilla ordered his police chiefs to strictly implement "Oplan Sita" and "Oplan Bakal" to confiscate loose firearms.
In the coming elections, Rep. Dudut Jaworski will be pitted against councilor Bobby Eusebio in Pasig City, Rep. Connie Dy against suspended Mayor Peewee Trinidad in Pasay City and incumbent Mayor Enrico Echiverri against former Mayor Rey Malonzo and possibly Rep. Baby Asistio in Caloocan City.
There are initial reports that Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay would be challenged by Sen. Lito Lapid, while in Manila the names of at least seven candidates were being floated as possible contenders to the post set to be vacated by Mayor Joselito Atienza.