La Libertad: One more town in Negros Oriental has been classified under the red category ahead of the May 12 midterm polls, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said Tuesday. Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec-Negros Island Region (NIR) director, announced that La Libertad town joined Guihulngan City in this high-risk classification.
According to Philippines News Agency, this development follows an incident where members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) burned heavy equipment in a remote sub-village in La Libertad last month. The Leonardo Panaligan Command, linked to the dismantled Central Negros 1 guerilla front, claimed responsibility for the destruction of two backhoes, a payloader, and a dump truck belonging to a construction company in Sitio Manghuya Barangay Aya on February 8. The construction company was engaged in building a farm-to-market road funded by the provincial government.
Law enforcement and military officials recommended placing La Libertad under the highest classification through Comelec Resolution No. 11067 during a recent meeting of the Provincial Joint Security Control Center, Castillano stated. One criterion for red category placement is the presence of armed threat groups that could disrupt the elections.
The categorization system includes green, yellow, and orange levels. Green areas have no security concerns and are generally peaceful; yellow areas have a history of election-related incidents in the last two elections; and orange areas face immediate concerns with serious armed threats. Red category areas meet yellow parameters and face severe threats from groups like communist-terrorist organizations.
In Negros Oriental, one area is currently under orange, with 22 areas under yellow. Castillano noted that the categorization of election hot spots will change regularly based on the current security status.
The NIR Regional Joint Security Control Center is scheduled to convene later this week to address election concerns, including security contingency plans. Attendees will include officials and representatives from the Philippine Army's 302nd and 303rd Infantry Brigades, Philippine National Police, Comelec, power utility firms, and the cargo forwarder responsible for delivering automated counting machines for the elections.
