Nolcom troops on ‘full red alert’

TARLAC CITY — As with other military units elsewhere in the country, the Armed Forces’ Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) is on "full red alert" today to ensure peaceful and orderly polls in its jurisdiction.

Lt. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, Nolcom commanding officer, said the one directly in charge of Task Force HOPE (Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections) in provinces north of Metro Manila is Brig. Gen. Valentino Prudencio, Nolcom’s deputy commander.

Mobilized by Nolcom to ensure peaceful polls in Central and Northern Luzon are the Army’s 5th and 7th Infantry Divisions, the Naval Forces North Luzon and the 1st Tactical Operations Wing of the Air Force, as well as the Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs).

Dominguez said the police commands in Central Luzon, Ilocos region, Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley are also involved in Task Force HOPE.

The National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology were also tapped for the task force’s operations, he said.

Dominguez said combined police and military units are concentrated in election "hot spots" which have been placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Comelec-controlled "hot spots" north of Metro Manila are the towns of Danglas, La Paz and Tineg in Abra; Bantay, Sta. Maria and Narvacan in Ilocos Sur; Currimao and Nueva Era in Ilocos Norte;

Lubuagan, Pasil, Tanudan and Tinglayan in Kalinga; Natividad, San Carlos City, Rosales, San Manuel, San Nicolas and Tayug in Pangasinan;

Enrile and Buguey in Cagayan; Santiago City, Echague, Ilagan, Angadanan, Jones, Naguilian, San Mariano and Alicia in Isabela; Muñoz City in Nueva Ecija; Bustos in Bulacan; Arayat in Pampanga; and Mariveles in Bataan.