Province to hold congressional elections on Oct.26
BY: JOEY A. GABIETA, LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA
CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON,PALO,Leyte- The Philippine National Police (PNP) is in full alert relative to the forthcoming congressional special elections in Southern Leyte.
And as part of the security measures being implemented by the PNP authorities across the province due to the special balloting in the province slated on October 26, is the establishment of check points in designated areas and the implementation of gun ban, said Police Colonel Nelson Eucogco, police provincial director for Southern Leyte.
Eucogco, however, stressed that since the start of the election period in the province, which begun on August 26 and to end on November 10, they have not monitored any incident relative to the conduct of the special elections.
“Southern Leyte is a peaceful province. Since the start of the election period, we have not received or monitored any violence relative to the conduct of the (special) congressional elections,” the provincial police director said Monday during the regular weekly briefing held here.
Police General Ariel Arcenas, police deputy regional director for administration, for his part, said that they have also laid down their own security plan in relation to the conduct of the special elections.
“Though we have not received (any violence related to the special congressional elections), we cannot afford to be complacent. We cannot just wait for an incident to happen,” Arcenas said during the same media forum.
Lawyer Felicisimo Embalsado, assistant regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), in a separate interview, had said that Southern Leyte is not considered as a concerned area during conduct of elections.
In fact, he said, during the recently held May 13 elections, there was no violence reported with all the 592 clustered polling precincts functioning.
But still, Embalsado said that they are not taking any possible occurrence of election-related violence reason why the Regional Joint Security Committee is being activated just like during conduct of regular elections.
The conduct of the special congressional elections in Southern Leyte was the result of the splitting into two the previous lone congressional district of the province.
This after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11198 earlier this year.
For the first congressional district, which consists the city of Maasin and the towns of Macrohon, Malitbog, Tomas Oppus and Bontoc, those in the running are incumbent Southern Leyte lone congressional congressman Roger Mercado, former board member Albert Esclamado, and Vicente Geraldo.
The first congressional district has total voting population of 132,114 registered voters.
And for the second congressional district, which covers the towns of Libangon, Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan, Saint Bernard, San Ricardo, Anahawan, San Juan, Hinundayan, Hinunangan, Silago, and Sogod, the candidates include Vice Governor Christopherson ‘Coco’ Yap, former vice governor Sheffered Tan, former congressman Aniceto Saludo, former Saint Bernard mayor Napoleon Cuaton, and Miguelino Caturan.
The second congressional district has 160,223 registered voters.
