NAGA CITY, Cebu – The Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) has recommended to the Commission on Elections (Comelect) that 11 towns and two cities in the province be placed under its election watchlist due to the intense political rivalry in these areas.

CPPO Director Erson Digal, in a meeting with officials from the Comelec and other law enforcement agencies, recommended the inclusion of 11 towns and two cities under the eye of the Comelec. The list includes the towns of Ronda, Dumanjug, Alegria, San Fernando, Dalaguete and Naga City in southern Cebu as well as the towns of Tabuelan, Tuburan, Tudela on Camotes Island, Daanbantayan, Carmen, Madredejos and Bogo City in northern Cebu.

Digal said election history and intense political rivalries in the identified areas were considered in recommending for their inclusion in the watchlist.

“In most of these areas, we saw that when the campaign period started there were already verbal tussles. Then in the areas which we recommend to be placed in the watchlist, we saw that the mayor and vice mayor were rivals for the same position,” Digal said.

Digal cited a strafing incident in Tabuelan town on April 5 which involved barangay captain Julieto Almonacin and the victim, Orlando Almodiel, a political leader of the Tabuelan mayoralty candidate.

Once the recommendation is approved by the Comelec, policemen will be deployed in these towns and cities, said Digal.

But Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong cried foul over the inclusion of his city in the watchlist, saying there has been no sign of intense political rivalry in his place. He, however, said that his political opponent is the wife of a policeman assigned at the CPPO.

Digal, for his part, said Naga was included in the list following the raid conducted on April 27 by elements from the Regional Intelligence Division (RID-7) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-7 at the house of barangay chairman Federico Cabizares in Cabungahan, Naga City.

The raid yielded several unlicensed firearms and ammunition. Digal said the raid was prompted by reports that loose firearms abound in the city, prompting him to include it on the list.

Supt. Oliver Cinco of the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) said troops on the ground have been ordered to strengthen and intensify their monitoring and conduct checkpoints to ensure that the coming days leading to the polls remain peaceful and orderly.

Cinco said they are also monitoring the intense rivalries between local candidates and looking into possible deployment of security forces in case the conflict goes out of hand.