• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Security personnel in Negros Oriental will have augmentation forces during the May 2025 elections since the province is a national concern, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said yesterday.
Comelec Negros Island Region (NIR) Director Lionel Marco Castillano noted that the peace and order situation in Negros Oriental is “so far, so good”.
Castillano said there is no report of intimidation of violence.
“Nag-aaway lang sila sa FB (Facebook) Okay lang yon. Walang namamatay doon (They are fighting in FB. It’s okay. Nobody dies there),” he added.
During the October 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), Negros Oriental was placed under Comelec control with large contingents of police and military deployed in the province to avert violence.
No single election-related violent incident was reported in the province during the 2023 BSKE.
The Comelec en banc approved the recommendation of placing Negros Oriental under Comelec control following the March 4, 2023 assassination of then Governor Roel Degamo which state authorities investigating the case said was politically motivated.
Degamo and nine others were killed while more than a dozen were injured after a group of armed men barged inside his residential compound in Pamplona town.
Former governor Henry Pryde Teves is challenging incumbent Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria in the gubernatorial race.
Pamplona Mayor Janice Vallega Degamo, widow of Degamo, is running for the third district congressional post against Janice Teves Gaston, aunt of Teves.
The two “Janices” will battle it out for the post that was once occupied by Arnolfo Teves Jr. who was ousted by the House of Representatives after getting implicated in the Pamplona massacre.
Castillano said they have yet to convene the NIR Regional Joint Security Coordinating Center, pending the activation of the NIR Police Regional Office, which may take place in December this year.
The election period is set from Jan. 12 to June 11, 2025.
The RJSCC is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine National Police and Philippine Coast Guard, and headed by the Comelec regional director. | GB
