BACOLOD CITY, (PNA) — Preparations for the barangay elections on Oct. 28 in Negros Occidental will be tackled during the command conference of the Commission on Elections, Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police on Sept. 28.
“We will compare notes during that conference,” Provincial Elections Supervisor Jessie Suarez said Tuesday.
The regional command conference will be held on September 25.
Suarez said he will meet with the city and municipal election officers and get inputs from them before the command conference with the military and the police.
Col. Jon Aying, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, had earlier said that least 90 hinterland barangays, mostly located in the first, fifth and sixth districts of Negros Occidental, have been identified as elections hotspots.
About 20 of these barangays are considered “highly affected” by the New People’s Army (NPA).
Aying also disclosed the possibility that the rebels will support candidates in what they consider as villages under their control.
The Army official said the military will focus their operations on the election hotspots and areas with difficult terrain while the police will handle the easily accessible barangays.