Pangasinan now has 1.9-M registered voters
PH’s 3rd LARGEST VOTING POPULATION
THE province of Pangasinan now has close to two million registered voters expected to vote in the May 13, 2019 elections.
Lawyer Alipio Alonzo Castillo III, provincial election supervisor, told the KBP Forum on January 17 that with the 1,946,682 registered Pangasinan voters, the province ranks as the province with third highest number of voters next to Cebu and Cavite.
To ensure orderly elections in the province, Castillo said his office has been conducting training of their personnel and teachers who will serve in about 2,632 polling precincts in the May 13 polls.
Each polling precinct will be manned by three teachers.
Meanwhile, Castillo allayed fears of violence after the Comelec and the Philippine National Police (PNP) identified eight areas of concern in the province.
“An area of concern is dynamic and not fixed because what was once considered as an area of concern maybe last month where there’s an intense political rivalry may not be the same after two months or onward to the election,” Castillo said. “It changes,” he pointed out.
The towns and city identified as areas of concern are: Sto. Tomas, Bayambang, Urbiztondo, Rosales, Sual, Balungao, Pozorrubio and Dagupan City.
Castillo, however, clarified that the listing of areas of concern should not be a cause for alarm that it will require him and the PNP to discuss the prospects of violence in those areas.
“We should not be alarmed to the point that we have to discuss possible chaotic situations on a daily basis, it’s not like that,” he said. “it simply means a town or city is given special attention,” he added.
“Let us not be alarmed. We only say areas of concern because of previous incidents marked by violence without having to mention towns, or there’s a record of intense political rivalry, all these are being considered in tagging areas of concern,” Castillo said.
P/Sr. Superintendent Wison Lopez, PNP provincial director, reiterated Castillo’s clarifications.
“It is just a preventive move and we will simply give special attention but all the other areas in Pangasinan will also be properly attended to for the conduct of the elections,” Lopez said. (PhilStar Wire Service)
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