7 Soccsksargen towns tagged as election season ‘areas of grave concern’

Soccksargen outlined in red | Google maps

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Authorities have tightened security in seven municipalities in the Soccsksargen region due to the possible occurrence of violent incidents during Monday’s national and local elections.

Lawyer Renato Magbutay, Region 12 director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), said the seven municipalities are Palimbang, Columbio and President Qurino in Sultan Kudarat, Maitum and Maasim in Sarangani, Pikit in Cotabato, and Banga in South Cotabato.

He said the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) classified these areas under the red category or areas of grave concern.

The concerned localities have recorded violent incidents and related threats in the previous elections mainly due to intense political rivalry and the presence of armed groups.

Magbutay cited the case of Maasim and Maitum, which were tagged as potential election hotspots because of the presence of communist rebels.

“They are not under Comelec control but (categorized as) areas of concern. There should be a sufficient number of military and (police) personnel in those areas and prioritized for the security preparations,” he explained.

On Wednesday, Comelec-12 led the ceremonial sendoff here for some 1,090 personnel from the PNP, AFP and the Philippine Coastguard deployed in parts of the region in preparation for the polls.

The Police Regional Office-12 assigned 939 augmentation personnel for election duties, with 326 serving as reserve contingent, 302 as quick response force, 123 for Comelec checkpoints, and 188 to secure polling centers.

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