2 Bataan towns tagged as election hotspots

BALANGA CITY- The towns of Mariveles and Limay in Bataan province were declared election hotspots due to an unsolved killing linked to politics and cases of political harassment in previous years.

At a candidates’ forum in Balanga City on Thursday, Bataan provincial police chief  Col.  Romell Velasco said Mariveles would be kept under close watch due to the murder of Jonathan dela Cruz, head of the management information system  and political coordinator of Mayor Jocelyn Castañeda.

De la Cruz was killed in front of his residence by two unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants in December 2020.

Police filed a case against Castañeda and four others in connection with the delayed turnover of Dela Cruz’s mobile phone and his car’s dashboard camera to authorities investigating his death.

On Thursday, Castañeda posted a P36,000-bail bond after a local court issued a warrant of arrest against her for obstruction of justice.

Castañeda has repeatedly denied that there was a cover-up attempt in the case.

Velasco said Limay would also be a top concern for the police because of several incidents of political harassment in previous local elections.

He did not elaborate.

He said at least 517 uniformed police officers will be deployed to different poll precincts in the province on May 9.

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