ILOILO CITY - The Commission on Elections in Western Visayas has identified 68 towns and cities in the region as "areas of concern," or AOC, in the May elections.

Comelec regional supervisor, Renato Magbutay said the list is based on a report presented by the Philippine National Police during a joint evaluation conference of the PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Comelec held on Feb. 5, where the peace and order situation in the region was assessed as part of the preparations for the elections. Negros Occidental has the most number of AOCs with 29, followed by Iloilo province (21), Capiz (9), Antique (7), and Aklan. There were no reported AOCs in the island-province of Guimaras.

Aside from the 68 towns and cities, the Comelec has also categorized 10 barangays in Iloilo City as AOCs.

A locality is considered an AOC if it has a history of election-related violence, presence of rebels or the existence of intense political rivalry. The category of a locality is raised to an "area of immediate concern" if the three conditions are present.

Law-enforcers, who have been deputized by the Comelec since the start of the election period, will keep a tight watch on these areas during the election period, said Magbutay.

Magbutay said the list will continuously be validated during regular conferences of the PNP, AFP and Comelec held twice a month. He said the list could change as the election nears.

Except in Iloilo City, most of the localities considered as AOCs are due to the presence of New People's Army rebels, Magbutay said.

The town of Tapaz in Capiz is among the areas being closely monitored by the Comelec and PNP because of the December 30 killing of Vice Mayor Victor Gardose, Caridad village chief Leonardo Gimeno Sr. and Gardose's bodyguard, Anthony Gequillo.

Magbutay said the assessment of the peace and order situation would be firmed up after candidates for local positions have filed their certificates of candidacy on or before the March 29 deadline.

Western Visayas has around 3,592,213 voters as of the May 2004 elections the fourth biggest region in terms of number of voters following the National Capital Region, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon

Negros Occidental has the biggest number of voters with 1,478,260 followed by Iloilo (1,158,943), Capiz (379,123), Aklan (258,582), Antique (241,977) and Guimaras (75,328).*NPB

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