THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has identified fewer election watchlist areas for the 2025 midterm elections compared to the 2019 and 2022 elections.
“[In the] 2019 elections, we monitored 941 election watchlist areas or areas of concern. [For] 2022, we have 844. As of today, we are monitoring 362,” PNP director for police community relations Maj. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba said in a press briefing on Friday.
PNP spokesman Col. Randulf Tuaño emphasized that the decline in the potential problem areas reflected a positive trend.
“Compared to previous polls, it’s lower, based on our assessment for now,” Tuaño said during the same presser.
The current count of 362 areas was also lower compared to the 401 identified in the fourth quarter of 2024. Historical PNP data showed 941 areas of concern as of May 13, 2019, and 844 as of May 6, 2022. For the 2025 polls, the latest figure stands at 362 as of April 15, 2025.
Of the 362 areas, 34 fell under the “red” category, indicating serious armed threats and a history of election-related violence, as classified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
This marks a reduction from 38 red areas in late 2024 and 36 in early 2025.
The Comelec has since taken control of one town each in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur following election-related incidents, contributing to the decrease.
“We’re not saying that it is fool-proof, that the election now will be more peaceful or secure.
What we’re saying is that the decrease in the election watchlist areas is a big basis in our deployment,” Alba said in Filipino.
As of now, 30 election-related incidents (ERIs) have been validated, with 17 days remaining before the May 12 elections. Of this number, 22 involved violence, while eight were classified as non-violent, although further details were not disclosed.
Data from the PNP showed that the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) accounted for nine of these incidents, followed by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with eight and Zamboanga Peninsula with three.
Other regions, including Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and Davao Region, reported two incidents apiece, while Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Eastern Visayas, and Soccsksargen reported one each.
Additionally, eight suspected ERIs are under investigation, while 20 incidents were confirmed as unrelated to the elections.
The PNP plans to deploy over 120,000 policemen on May 12 to ensure the security of 37,528 voting centers across the country.
The PNP has also trained 7,943 personnel to assist electoral boards, with 3,774 of them assigned to BARMM to address unique security challenges in the region.