MANILA, May 6 — Under guidelines issued by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the election watchlist areas (EWAs) or “election hotspots,” are classified into three categories. This is due to the intense political rivalries, reported election-related incidents, and the presence of Private-Armed Groups (PAGs) in some provinces for the upcoming elections. Nine provinces namely Abra, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Masbate, Negros Oriental, Samar, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, and Lanao del Norte are included in the list of election hotspots, according to PNP. Logo photo courtesy of Wikipedia For Category 1, areas considered are those where violence is anticipated to happen due to intense political conflicts, private-armed groups, and proliferation of loose firearms, those used by gun-for-hire gangs. Under Category 2 are areas where harm and threats are posed by large armed groups like the New People’s Army, Bangsamoro [...]
