• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Provincial Joint Security Coordinating Center (PJSCC) in Negros Occidental will convene on January 11 to assess the peace and order situation of the province, as far as the May 12 elections are concerned.
With the election period starting on January 12, the Commission of Elections will also start implementing a gun ban on that same day, which will run until June 11.
The 90-day campaign period for national candidates – senator and party lists – will start from February 11 until May 10.
The Comelec said local bets will have 45 days to campaign, from March 28 to May 10.
The Comelec expects to adopt a color-coding system in identifying hotspots during the upcoming polls, such as green for no cause of concern, yellow if it has a history of political unrest, orange to indicate the presence of armed groups, and red for those deemed as critical areas.
Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria disclosed that as of this time, Negros Occidental remains in code “green”.
The PJSCC is composed of the Comelec, Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Police, as well as the Coast Guard.*
