The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to place seven areas under its control in preparation for the conduct of the country's first nationwide automated polls on Monday.

Comelec Resolution 8887, promulgated late Saturday evening, declared Abra province (CAR); Dasol town in Pangasinan (Region I); Buguey town in Cagayan (Region II); Nueva Ecija province (Region III); Pantao Ragat and Matungao towns in Lanao Del Norte (Region X); Davao City in Davao del Sur (Region XI); and the whole of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) under the control of the poll body.

Placing an area under Comelec control means that a special task force will be assigned to oversee the province during the election period.

Making up the task force would be a Comelec commissioner, the highest-ranking official of the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the highest-ranking officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assigned in the area.

The commissioner to be assigned in the province would be the acting governor. He would take the lead in running the provincial government, as well as exercise control over all the law enforcement agencies there.

Comelec Resolution 8734 says that declaring an area under Comelec control is conditioned on the political division, subdivision, unit, or area being "affected by serious armed threats."

It defined "serious armed threats" as the "presence of paramilitary forces, private armies or identifiable armed bands widely perceived to have committed terrorism, fraud or other election irregularities and threaten or tend to disrupt the holding of free, peaceful, honest, orderly and credible elections."

Data from the PNP indicated that Region I, or the Ilocos region, recorded the highest number of election watchlist areas (EWA).

"This is mainly due to its historical data on election violence and existence of intense partisan political climate, particularly in Ilocos provinces," the PNP said in the poll body resolution.

It added that Region VIII, or Eastern Visayas, topped the three regions in the Visayas with the most EWAs, specifically because of the strong presence of communist rebels there.

The ARMM likewise scored the highest number of EWAs due to its "complex political situation," said the report.

Earlier, the poll body en banc held a hearing to place some areas in Abra, Nueva Ecija, and Zamboanga Del Sur under Comelec control. (See: Comelec to announce list of areas under its control on May 3)

The requests were made by Tineg, Abra Mayor Edwin Crisologo; Bangued, Abra Mayor Dominic Valera; Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali; and Labangan, Zamboanga Del Sur Vice Mayor Wilson Nandang. (See: Local execs want 6 areas placed under Comelec control)

Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle earlier said that the local officials requested them to place their administrative units under Comelec control because of the history of election-related violence in their respective areas. —JV, GMANews.TV