39 Central Luzon towns under poll watch list

ANGELES CITY, Philippines - Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Arturo Cacdac said here yesterday that a total of 39 towns in his region are now in the election watch list of the police, including 34 where election-related violence have been noted and four where armed groups have been reported.

Cacdac reported that a total of 3,952 policemen have been assigned to 2,813 polling centers where they are to secure 7,649 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines in Central Luzon.

In a press conference here, Cacdac said 17 of the towns are in Nueva Ecija, nine in Pampanga, five in Tarlac, three each in Bataan and Bulacan, and two in Zambales.

Cacdac said that there are 7,640 PCOS machines in the region that will be secured by policemen and AFP personnel.

He said EWL’s have been classified under Category 1 and Category 2. “Those under Category 1 are areas with election-related violence recently, or in the last two elections, while Category 2 are those where armed groups such as the New People’s Army have been reported,” he said.

He said the Central Luzon police has organized 460 “quick reaction forces” (QRF)  which will position themselves in areas where they could readily reach other parts of the province they are assigned to. Three QRF’s will be on standby in Aurora, 10 in Bataan, five in Nueva Ecija,  two in Tarlac, four each in Bulacan, Pampanga,  Zambales, Angeles City and Olongapo City.

He also said that apart from the cops assigned to polling centers and the QRF’s, 216 others have been assigned as “details” of some candidates who requested for security. A total 64 of these cops are securing candidates in Nueva Ecija, 38 in Pampanga, 36 in Bulacan, 24 in Bataan, 17 in Zambales, 20 in Tarlac, eight in Aurora, six in Angeles City.

Cacdac said that as part of election-related concerns, the police maintains 163 checkpoints manned by 1,149 cops in Central Luzon. Fifty-seven of these checkpoints are in Nueva Ecija, 20 in Pampanga, 19 in Tarlac, 17 in Bulacan, 16 in Bataan,  12 in Aurora, eight in Zambales, and seven each in Angeles and Olongapo cities.

He identified the following towns in the watch list of the Commission on Elections and the police: Carranglan, San Jose City, Muñoz, Bongabon, Cabanatuan City, Sta. Rosa, Gapan, San Isidro, Jaen, Quezon, Licab, Talugtog, and Aliaga in Nueva Ecija; Mabalacat, Arayat, Candaba, Angeles, Guagua, San Simon, Apalit, and Magalang in Pampanga; Mariveles, Morong and Dinalupihan in Bataan, and Palauig and Castillejos in Zambales, and; San Ildefonso, San Jose del Monte and Bocaue in Bulacan. The five towns in Tarlac were not immediately identified.   - With Ric Sapnu