City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) personnel rush the cleaning of the ballot boxes for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections at Quezon City Hall compound in Quezon City on Tuesday (October 17, 2023). (INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA)
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 361 barangays have been placed under “red category” or areas of grave concern for the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.
PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said in a press conference that 1,271 other barangays are under the “orange category,” and 1,199 are under the “yellow category.”
The red category is the highest alert level, while areas under the orange category have serious threats from local armed groups and communist terrorist organizations, while those under the yellow category have recorded election-related incidents during the two previous elections.
The 42,001 barangays for the barangay and SK elections are under the “green category.”
Acorda said preparations for the October 30 elections are in order under the supervision of Comelec Chairman George Garcia.
“Everything is in order, and so far, okay na po tayo (we are already okay),” Acorda said.
He added that no specific threats are currently expected to affect the conduct of the elections. In Mindanao, wala tayong nakikitang adverse effects ng gulo sa isang bansa,” Acorda explained.
(So far, we do not see any threat now in the conduct of elections. In Mindanao, we do not see any adverse effects of ongoing conflicts in other countries.)
Election-related incidents
In the same press briefing, Acorda said that the PNP has so far verified a total of 22 election-related incidents (ERIs).
Twenty-three ERIs are still up for validation, while 64 incidents have been determined not to be related to the upcoming elections.
Gun ban
Acorda also revealed that 1,310 firearms (from 1,739 violators) have already been confiscated during the gun ban period as of Oct. 22.
Meanwhile, 2,239 firearms have been deposited to the PNP for safekeeping, while 1,560 were surrendered.