All units of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division (8ID) are now conducting massive pre-election activities, especially in scouring possible areas in
These pre-emptive operations of the government troops already resulted to two encounters in Rizal
Capt. Amado Gutierrez, chief of the Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO) said that the immediate action on their part was to deter NPA plans to influence polls’ results.
The military is anticipating that attempts to influence results will possibly happen in NPA-infiltrated areas on the day of the elections.
Based on records from the Philippine National Police (PNP), there are at least 292 villages in the region that have been included in the “election watch lists” Of the number 90 are considered as “immediate areas of concern” while 202 are within “areas of concern.”
Among the parameters used in declaring an area as either “areas of concern” or “immediate areas of concern” are history of violence in the past elections (2007 and 2010 elections) and existence of partisan armed groups.
Gutierrez reported that in the whole region their concentration is on the 67 barangays they consider as “NPA-influenced areas.” Of the number 57 are “influenced” while 10 are “less influenced.”
“Influenced areas” are those where NPA members have organic structure that has the capacity to influence election results through threatening barangay folks to vote for their supported candidates and even supersede village councils by force. These barangays, according to Gutierrez, are the subjects of their ongoing efforts before the elections in the 28th.
Delineation of coverage areas during the elections will be discussed thoroughly during their final command conference this Oct 21, he added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=577624
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