PNP identifies areas of concern for 2023 barangay, SK polls

Barangay elections in Mandaluyong City in. 2018 (GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / INQUIRER / file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said that it had identified 27 possible areas of concern under the red category (with serious/grave security threats and a history of election-related incidents)  for the upcoming 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Lt. Gen. Michael John Dubria likewise revealed the number of possible areas of concern under green (no security concerns), yellow (with a history of election-related incidents), and orange (with serious threats) categories. 

“For category green, we have 37,683 election areas with no concerns; for yellow, we have 4,085; and for orange, we have 232,” Dubria said in a press conference. 

According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the areas of election concern, or election hotspots, are places where there is potential violence or tension between local candidates.

Dubria did not specify the location of these areas but revealed that they were based on the force’s records generated from the previous elections.

He added that the PNP has yet to submit these numbers to the Comelec for approval. 

PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said that they identify these areas of concern through their previous intelligence reports, records on the history of these areas, and input from other agencies such as the Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  

gsg/abc