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The good news is that not a single town or city in Central Visayas has a private army that could endanger the May 2010 elections, said officials.
However, nine towns and two cities are in the election watch list due to intense political rivalry and past incidents of trouble as identified by the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In Cebu, Bogo city and the four towns of Cordova in Mactan Island, and the northern towns of Sta. Fe, Carmen and San Francisco fall under category one, where intense political rivalry and past incidents of election-related violence were recorded.
Chief Supt. Lani-O Nerez, police director for Central Visayas, said the classification of the towns and cities would be subject to daily asssessment.
During the meeting with the Comelec and PRO-7 officials, Nerez said 11 localities in region seven have been placed on the watch list.
The Philippine National Police used to classify potential trouble spots as ?areas of concern? and ?areas of immediate concern?.
However, the term has been changed to ?election watch list of areas? or EWAS for the 2010 polls.
There are three three categories: 1) areas with intense political rivalry and previous election-related incidents; 2) areas where communist rebels are present; and 3) areas where a private army exists.
Rene Ray Buac, Comelec regional director for Central Visayas, said EWAS was used in lieu of ?election hotspots? because the term hotspots makes a situation appear worse than it is.
?Election watch list na ang gigamit kay kung hot spot man gud grabe ang dating kung sa Tagalog pa,? he said.
In Central Visayas, not a single town or city was placed in category 3 or areas with the presence of private armies.
Five towns in Negros Oriental and one city in Bohol were classified as category 2 due to the presence of communist rebels. These were Guihulgan, La Libertad, Zamboanguita, Siaton and Sta. Catalina in Negros Oriental and Tagbilaran City in Bohol.
Police in these areas were urged to conduct checkpoints and coordinate with the Comelec for initiatives.
Former Cordova Mayor Arleigh Sitoy yesterday said there was no need for Cordova to be placed under the EWAS.
Arleigh, who is the Liberal Party's candidate for the 6th district seat in the Provincial Board (PB), said the town was included in the EWAS because on May 13, 2007, the eve of the elections, the police found three high-powered firearms and a trolley bag of cash. The vehicle was parked in front of a fast food outlet in Lapu-Lapu City.
The Sport Utility Van turned out to be owned by Arleigh's father, Adelino, incumbent mayor of Cordova.
The seized guns included a 9mm pistol, one KG99 improvised assault rifle and one M16 baby Armalite rifle with magazines and ammunition.
The wads of cash in the bag were in P100, P1,000 and P500 bills, triggering speculation that the money was used for vote buying and the guns for intimidation. The Sitoys had denied the allegation.
Arleigh said his father was cleared after they presented documents that proved they had legal possessiono f the firearms.
But for this May elections, Arleigh said there was no need for Cordova to place the town in the watch list since his father was seeking reelection unopposed.
?Tungod kay walay kontra akong amahan, mahulog nga ang political atmosphere sa Cordova kay no political atmosphere (Since my father doesn't have an opponent, there?s no hostile political atmosphere in Cordova),? Arleigh said.
But he said they won?t contest the Comelec or police evaluation or ask for a police escort.
Two political groups in their town support Adelino's reelection bid. Only the seats for vice mayor and councilors are being contested.Arleigh said his father was able to unite the opposition headed by Vice Mayor Rodrigo Jumao-as , whose reelection bid is being challenged by former councilor Renato Bontol.
Jumao-as and Bontol used to be partymates in the opposition. But after he was elected as mayor, Adelino worked for reconciliation.
Arleigh said the death threats received by outgoing Councilor Victor ?Boyet? Tago III had nothing to do with politics since the police were more inclined to believe that it was due to a personal grudge . Tago, who is in his third and last term as councilor, is not seeking election in May. The mayor's former rival for the post, Danilo Sinugbuhan, is also supporting his reelection bid.
In Bogo, the political tension is expected to heat up after the Supreme Court en banc declared former Bogo Mayor Celestino ?Tining? Martinez III the lawful winner of the 2007 congressional race in the 4th district of the province, unseating Rep. Benhur Salimbangon.
Salimbangon, through his lawyers Sixto Brillantes and Delon Urot, filed a motion for reconsideration on Wednesday. (See story on page 2)
The 22-page decision by the Supreme Court en banc said Martinez won over Salimbangon by 4,948 votes during the hotly contested 2007 elections.
The 5,401 ballots cast in favor of "Martinez" should be counted in favor of Celestino Martinez III because the Comelec had, by the time of the elections, disqualified another candidate named Edilito C. Martinez as a nuisance candidate.
Salimbangon said he wanted Bogo to be placed under Comelec control to prevent any political violence.
He cited threats to his security and that of his younger siblings, Mariquita Yeung and Cesar Salimbangon, who are running for mayor and vice mayor in Bogo.
He said Yeung had been receiving anonymous calls warning her that harm would befall her and her family if she didn?t withdraw from the mayoralty race.
Salimbangon said his supporters have noticed new faces in Bogo, which bolstered his suspicion that his opponent may have hired goons, an allegation strongly denied by Mayor Celestino ?Junie? Martinez Jr.
Mayor Martinez said Comelec control was not necessary in Bogo City.
Instead, he suggested that the neighboring town of Daanbantayan be placed under the Comelec watchlist because the political atmosphere there was more intense.
