CL city, 3 towns placed under Comelec control

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has placed Muñoz City in Nueva Ecija and three Central Luzon municipalities under its control.

The three towns are Arayat in Pampanga, and Baliuag and Bustos in Bulacan, according to Senior Superintendent Amado Paneda, of the Region 3 police command.

Last Tuesday, Muñoz councilor Mauricio Corpuz, who was seeking re-election, was shot dead by two men inside a videoke bar.

In Arayat town, a barangay chairman and mayoralty bet survived an ambush last month.

Paneda said Bali—uag and Bustos were similarly placed under Comelec control because of election-related violence in the two towns last February.

Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, Central Luzon police director, has assigned Paneda to be the election supervisor for Zambales, Bataan and Olongapo City.

On the other hand, Senior Superintendent Edgar Acuna, deputy for operations, would take care of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Tarlac and Aurora, and Senior Superintendent Abner Cabalquinto, Pampanga and Angeles City.

Meanwhile, in Pangasinan, the Comelec has placed San Carlos City and five eastern towns — Natividad, Rosales, San Manuel, San Nicolas and Tayug — under its control.

Lawyer Reddy Balarbar, provincial election supervisor, received yesterday a resolution signed by the Comelec commissioners, providing additional guidelines in carrying out Comelec control of a certain area.

The Ilocos regional command said it is ready for Monday’s synchronized local and national elections.

The command has jurisdiction over Pangasinan, La Union and the two Ilocos provinces.

Chief Superintendent Claudio Cabreros, Region 2 police director, said that although the region has had generally peaceful elections, they have fielded additional police personnel to certain areas considered poll "hot spots."

Besides the four Pangasinan towns placed under Comelec control, Cabreros said additional policemen will also deployed in Dagupan City and the Pangasinan towns of Binmaley, Sual and San Fabian. — With Eva Visperas and Cesar Ramirez