Isabela city, 9 towns tagged as ‘hot spots’

ILAGAN, Isabela — Police have identified Santiago City and nine Isabela municipalities as "hot spots" in the May 10 elections due to intense rivalries among local bets and past poll-related violence in these places.

In last week’s command conference here, Senior Superintendent Nelson Nario, provincial police director, said augmentation forces will be deployed and checkpoints set up in Santiago City and the towns of Alicia, Ilagan, San Pablo, Angadanan, Roxas, Jones, Mallig, Naguilian and San Mariano.

"We won’t be taking any chances. We will do anything legally possible to avert election-related violence in our area," Nario told The STAR.

He said he has tapped the help of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division based in Gamu town in monitoring election-related activities in the province.

"Our objective is to make the elections in our province peaceful and orderly," he said, giving assurance that police personnel will stay politically neutral.

Nario, meanwhile, directed Superintendent Valfrey Tabian, Santiago City police chief, to submit a report on separate attacks against a Lakas-CMD vice mayoralty bet and a radio commentator.

Earlier, city councilor Armando Tan reported that four unidentified men fired at his house in Barangay Buenavista, shattering window panes.

A few days after, four motorcycle-riding men hurled a grenade at the house of Odie Gutierrez, an announcer of radio station dwSI.

Nario also ordered Chief Inspector Rajan Romero, police chief of Ramon town, to submit a follow-up report on the murder of Barangay Bugallon Norte chairman Francisco Cabbat, a municipal coordinator of city councilor Anthony Miranda who is running for congressman in Isabela’s fourth congressional district.