BAGUIO CITY – Police in Abra province have added the municipalities of Bangued and Pilar as election hotspots for the upcoming May 2025 mid-term polls by placing these areas under the “orange” category.
Col. Damian Olsim, Regional Intelligence Division chief of the Police Regional Office Cordillera Administrative Region (PROCAR), identified these areas during the meeting of the Cordillera Regional Joint Control Center (RJSCC) at the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-CAR office here on Tuesday afternoon.
Areas under the “orange” category are those considered to have serious armed threats. During the RJSCC meeting last December, the only municipality under the “orange” category was Bucay.
Meanwhile, those in “yellow” category, or areas with a history of election-related incidents, are the towns of Lagayan, Pidigan, Tayum, Tineg, Dolores, and Langangilang in Abra; and Lubuagan in Kalinga, due to existing tribal conflict between Mabongtot and Lubuagan sub-tribes.
The municipality of Penarrubia in Abra, which used to be under “yellow” category, was downgraded to “green” or an area with no election-related security concerns.
“The goal is (to) always (have) a peaceful election, to maintain an orderly election,” Comelec-CAR director Atty. Julius Torres said.
Torres said they will continue to monitor the situation, particularly in the non-“green” areas.
PROCAR chief Brig. Gen. David Peredo said there are 67 towns and cities in the region that are under the “green” category, seven under “yellow” and three under “orange”.
“As early as December, we have already added personnel to ensure that we will achieve the goal of having an orderly election in Abra,” he added.
Abra is a constant concern during any election due to its history of violence but Peredo is hopeful that the situation will not escalate. **Liza Agoot
