THE PROVINCIAL Joint Security Command Center (PJSCC) has trimmed down to 28 from 88 the list of barangays in Iloilo under the election watch list areas (EWAs). In a meeting on May 2 in Iloilo City, the PJSCC recommended the declaration of 15 barangays under Category 1, 10 for Category 2, and three in Category 3. Category 1 are areas with election-related violence and incidence while Category 2 are those with the presence of the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). Barangays with both factors belong to Category 3. Iloilo Provincial Election Supervisor Elizabeth D. Doronila said the EWAs are mostly in the first to third districts, only one from the fifth district and none from the fourth district. Ms. Doronila said the number of barangays in the watch list was reduced due to the strengthened security of the police and the military. “The members of the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippine)-NPA have already dispersed, that is why we recorded a reduction of categories 1 and 2. Their purpose in staying in those barangays is to recruit members,” she said. The list will be submitted for verification and approval by the Regional Joint Security Command Center. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

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