PANGASINAN, ELECTION ‘AREA OF CONCERN’

PANGASINAN’S inclusion in the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) list of 15 provinces as “areas of concern” in the May 2013 election is a welcome development, according to the provincial police.

Senior Supt. Mariano Luis Verzosa, officer-in-charge provincial police director, said being tagged as a “high risk” area means more attention will be directed towards Pangasinan to ensure a peaceful and safe conduct of the elections.

“For the police, it’s a welcome development because it will mean additional resources to ensure a secured and fair election 2013 in the entire province… Our personnel would be beefed up,” Verzosa said.

The high-risk label means election-related violence could likely occur in the area.

DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, in a meeting in Camp Crame last week, identified the 15 provinces as Abra, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, and La Union, in Region 1; Cagayan in Region 2; Pampanga and Nueva Ecija in Region 3, Batangas and Cavite in Region 5, Masbate (Region 5), Samar (Region 6), Misamis Occidental (Region 10), Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Basilan, all in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Verzosa explained that the DILG uses certain parameters as basis in identifying areas of concern.

PROVINCIAL OFFICIALS

Provincial government officials, for their part, disagreed with the list and has appealed to the DILG to re-examine the inclusion of Pangasinan.

Provincial administrator Rafael Baraan said in a forum that the DILG seemed to have no basis for the declaration.

“It depicts a negative impression on the safety and security in the province, especially that a lot of big events were conducted here like the Palarong Pambansa and the recent Ms. Earth International,” Baraan added.

Vice- governor Jose Ferdinand Calimlim Jr., who is also running for re-election, said that after he heard the declaration of Roxas, he immediately gathered reports from the police and other concerned agencies to verify the inclusion.

“Apparently, the information from these agencies did not confirm that the province should be on that list,” Calimlim said.

COMELEC POSITION

Meanwhile, Lawyer Reddy Balarbar, assistant regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Region 1, said in a separate interview speculated that the inclusion of Pangasinan could simply be because the two gubernatorial bets are both formidable.

“Re-electionist Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza are both strong contenders (and) maybe that’s the primordial consideration of the DILG to include Pangasinan in its list,” Balarbar said.

He echoed Verzosa’s stance that being in the DILG list should not alarm the people as it is actually good for the province because it means stronger security measures.

Balarbas added that the Comelec in Region 1 will wait for the list of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on its identified areas of concern, which may include areas that are not in the DILG list.

Lawyer Marino Salas, Provincial Election Supervisor of Pangasinan Comelec, confirmed this saying the DILG list is “premature” and that they will wait for the peace and order assessment of the PNP.–Eva Visperas and Hilda Martin Austria

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