• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Regional Joint Security Control Center is expected on March 19 to name the areas of concerns for the midterm elections in the Negros Island Region (NIR).
During the meeting on March 19, Atty. Lionel Marco Castillano, Commission on Elections regional director for NIR, said that they will also discuss the contingency plans of local government units affected by the Kanlaon volcano eruption, for the May 12 polls.
Twenty-three of the 25 towns and cities in Negros Oriental have been initially identified as areas of concern by the provincial Comelec office, which is now up for approval by the RJSCC.
Negros Oriental was placed under Comelec control during the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, following election related killings, including the assassination of then Gov. Roel Degamo.
Another unnamed town in Negros Occidental is also being eyed as an area of concern.
Castillano said they have already submitted an initial list of areas that are in the watchlist for the upcoming polls.
The Comelec is also studying the new assessment of the classification of areas of concern for the 2025 polls, according to its Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Thursday.
Garcia said that there might be areas that can be upgraded to the red category or downgraded to the green category.
The red category refers to areas with serious or grave threats amid the preparations for the 2025 polls, while the green category refers to areas with no security concerns.
Comelec has initially identified 38 areas of concern under the red category, including one in Western Visayas due to serious or grave threats.*
