THE entire province of La Union was placed under election hot spot list following three separate attacks on local officials, the recent was the ambush in Balaoan town where the vice mayor was killed and his vice mayor daughter was wounded.
Director General Oscar Albayalde, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said they are yet to receive advice if La Union will be placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“For obvious reasons, it is already in our hot spot list. What happened there is not alarming but we have to be concerned,” said Albayalde.
Politics is being eyed as one of the three possible motives behind the attack that led to the killing of Vice Mayor Alfredo Concepcion and his aide and the wounding of his daughter, the town mayor.
Politics is also the motive behind the attack on Supiden, La Union Mayor Alexander Boquing last month. In May this year, former congressman Eufranio Eriguel was also shot dead.
Albayalde earlier ordered all police commanders to conduct early election security preparations following the series of attacks on local chief executives in the past two years. He said they expect the attacks to intensify as the midterm election nears.
Philippine elections are always marred with attacks on candidates and their supporters and the solution, according to Albayalde, is intensified security measures and cooperation of the candidates.
Almost 8,000 barangays are currently on election hot post list while there are 77 armed groups operating in the country, all of them are being paid to do the dirty works for erring politicians.
“We are all focused and geared towards a common goal of a peaceful and orderly elections,” said Albayalde. (Aaron Recuenco)
