CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga—Central Luzon police authorities had tightened the security of 162 barangays in the region which are considered hotspots in the coming national local election on May 14.
Chief Supt. Amador Corpus, regional director of the Police Regional Office III said they tightened the security of 162 villages by deploying more policemen in the areas to ensure the holding of honest elections.
Corpus said insurgency and not illegal drugs is the reason behind more police visibility in the affected villages of the region.
The hot spots villages include 102 in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan 27; Aurora,19; Tarlac, nine; Zambales, five while Pampanga and Bataan are zero.
Police authorities reported the first poll violence in the region with the killing of a re-electionist barangay captain of Mabalasbalas, San Rafael, Bulacan yesterday.
Based on the 2015 national census, Central Luzon has a total of 3,102 barangays formerly called barrios until they were renamed barangays in 1974 by former President Marcos.
“We are currently undertaking our security preparation and proactive measures to attain our election goal”, Corpus said.
Also, being undertaken by the regional authorities is the holding of peace covenant aim to lessen to neighborhood tension among the opposing candidates who are mostly related either by blood or affinity.
In Nueva Ecija where 102 barangays were declared hotspots, about 132 candidates joined a peace covenant at the provincial police office sponsored by the Commission on Elections, army and police authorities last week.