Politicians' meddling contributes to "hot" brgy polls

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — The intervention of elected officials in Negros Oriental in the coming barangay election contributed in making it difficult for the Comelec to secure and make peaceful the electoral exercise.

Negros Oriental provincial election supervisor Eddie Aba admitted that, while the barangay election is supposedly non-partisan, it is publicly known that many politicians have been flexing their power and support to the probable candidates for the barangay poll.

The barangay poll is expected to be "hot" and with intense political rivalry among candidates considering that the poll is localized, said Aba. "I hope they (politicians) will keep their hands off in the election," he said, adding that politicians' meddling will encourage intense political rivalry.

During the security planning workshop among the Comelec, the police and the military, 27 of the 557 barangays in Negros Oriental have been tagged election watch list areas (EWAs).

OIC provincial police director Supt. Alet Virtucio said that of the 27 barangays, 16 are in Guihulngan City, six in Sta. Catalina town and five in Siaton.

The validation of these barangays was done through the intelligence community, with the presence of threat groups, specifically the NPA, as the sole criteria for the identification of  EWAs, said Virtucio, adding that deployment of police and military forces to these areas has been prioritized.

In a related development, Aba cautioned potential candidates for the Oct. 28 barangay poll against early campaigning, following reports that some people have been going around in the city distributing campaign materials ahead of their filing of certificates of candidacy (CoCs).

Aba said the activity is illegal as the campaign period has not started. Those found guilty of premature campaigning will be sanctioned, he said.

Comelec has set the dates for the filing of  CoCs from Oct. 11 through 17 (except Oct. 13, which is a Sunday), and the campaign period from Oct. 18 until Oct. 26 midnight. It has also established common poster areas for candidates, and that the ballot boxes, forms and ballots are expected to arrive in the province on Oct. 23, he said.

There are more than 800,000 registered voters in Negros Oriental, Aba added. (FREEMAN)