Comelec declares whole Mindanao, 3 other areas ‘red’ election hot spots

The Commission on Elections on Tuesday declared the entire Mindanao island group as a category red election hot spot for the May 2019 polls.

The town of Jones in Isabela, Lope de Vega in Northern Samar and the entire province of Abra were also declared category red.

According to Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez, the development came in the wake of suspected election-related incidents in the last two elections, including "serious armed threats" posed by terrorist groups.

A red classification may warrant the motu proprio declaration of Comelec control over the area concerned.

The Comelec en Banc may also direct the augmentation of personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as the need arises.

In a statement, Jimenez said the "serious armed threats" came from the New People’s Army (NPA), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and/or Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), among other groups.

The development has also been confirmed by the Philippine National Police (PNP), which is determined to abide by the declaration.

"We shall continue to perform our mandate to enforce the law and ensure peace and order in the run up to the May 13 polls," PNP spokesperson, Police Colonel Bernard Banac told GMA News Online.

The Comelec, PNP and AFP categorize election hotspots from green to red.

As Jimenez explains it, areas under category green are those "of no security concern and are relatively peaceful and orderly."

Category yellow refers to areas "with a history of election related violence or the existence of intense partisan political rivalry, but without the participation of domestic terror groups."

Category orange refers to areas where "there are likewise serious armed threats posed by domestic terror groups and other analogous armed groups" in addition to conditions that would qualify an area as category yellow.

Red, the highest of the categories, refers to areas where "while being under category orange, the relevant government agencies declare the existence of conditions which may constitute grounds for the declaration of control."—NB/LDF, GMA News