Of the 67 barangays, Cpt. Amado C. Gutierrez, chief of the Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO), said that 57 are "influenced" while 10 are "less influenced".
He added three of the villages "influenced" by New People's Army (NPA) are in this city namely Gasdo categorized as "less influenced" and Macatingog and Roxas as influenced.
Adjacent barangays are also included in their efforts for possibility that they are also “NPA-threatened.”
Cpt. Gutierrez explained that "influenced" areas are those with organic structure of NPAs within the barangays. The structure known as militia has the capacity to influence election results by means of threatening barangay folks to vote for their supported candidates or they can even supersede village councils by force.
He also added another indication of an "influenced" area is the presence of mass organizations in the barangay. These organizations serve as “frontline protesters” of the militia against army presence inside the barangay.
However, whether a village is “influenced, less influenced or threatened” Gutierrez assured that in the upcoming elections, they will deploy troops to man every polling center in rural areas under their responsibility in order for them to be able to respond quickly whenever their presence is needed.
To recall, Higasaan village failed to conduct elections on its very date during the May mid-term elections due to reported threats coming from armed groups in the area. A special election was held May 29 this year.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=578753
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