16 S. Cotabato villages under close watch

KORONADAL CITY — Authorities are closely watching 16 barangays in the four towns of South Cotabato for possible violence that may erupt due to intense political rivalries and armed groups that marred previous polls in these areas.

The barangays, earlier declared "areas of immediate concern," are Ned, Dimlag, Halilan, Upper and Lower Makulan, Lamkadi and Klobi in Lake Sebu town; Lampari, Lam-afus, San Jose and Rang-ay in Banga town; Basag and Maan in T’boli town; and Upper Sepaka in Surallah town.

"We are doing it now because we do not want bloody incidents to happen again in these barangays," Senior Superintendent Romeo Rufino, provincial police director, said.

He said additional police and military personnel have been deployed in these "hot spots."

Although the local police command has not recorded any election-related incident in the province since the local campaign began last Dec. 15, Rufino said they cannot ignore the fact that the 16 barangays have previous records of violence.

"Mahirap ng magkumpyansa. Iba na yung preparado tayo (It’s hard to be overconfident. It’s best to be prepared). The safety of innocent civilians is our utmost concern," he said.

Rufino said checkpoints were set up in the potential "hot spots" to prevent the entry of firearms and other materials that could possibly disturb the peaceful conduct of the elections.

The provincial office of the Commission on Elections has deployed elements of the Army’s 27th Infantry Batallion and government militiamen to ensure that the polls would be peaceful and orderly.