The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said that the request of city officials to place Makati City under its control remains unheeded because there has been no serious armed threat in the area which is required before it can be declared an immediate concern.

“It is a serious matter and there is a process that must be followed and conditions that have to be met. We have yet to determine if the conditions in Makati actually merit placing it under Comelec control,” Comelec National Capital Region director Michael Dioneda said.

“There is a process. The national police and the regional office of the Comelec can recommend and the commission en banc has the authority to decide,” he explained.

Placing an area under Comelec control, Dioneda said, should have sufficient basis such as “an identified armed group involved in destroying properties and creating havoc in that area.”

Recently, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay aired an appeal to the poll body to place the city under its control following the attack on his associate Gerardo Limlingan last Mar. 21 and the killing of supporter Bernardo Olarte last March 31.

But Dioneda said he sees no reason to take such action since there is no clear evidence yet that the two incidents were election-related. “The Limlingan incident did not even happen in Makati, but in Cainta. The police are also investigating the possibility that the Olarte killing was due to money dispute,” Dioneda said.

The Comelec has received several requests from various local government units in the provinces to place their respective areas under its control but not in Metro Manila.