Bacolod City Police Director, Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, yesterday said he will ask the Police Regional Office-6 to delete barangays Mansilingan and Banago from the election watchlist areas.

De la Paz said that, for a barangay to be included in the watchlist, there should be a history of election-related violence, intense political rivalry and presence of armed groups used as private armies by politicians.

Based on their validation, there is no election-related violence, strong political competition and armed groups in Mansilingan and Banago that would qualify them for inclusion in the watchlist.

They will submit their validation report to the PRO-6 so the two Bacolod barangays can be removed from the list before the start of the election period next year, de la Paz added.

PRO-6 listed 315 probable election hotspots in Western Visayas, with Negros Occidental topping the list with 126, followed by Capiz with 77, Iloilo - 75, Antique - 17, Aklan and Iloilo City with nine each, Bacolod City - 2 and none in Guimaras.

Of the 315 barangays, 89 are classified as election areas of concern, and the rest listed as areas of immediate concern.

De la Paz also said they are going to recall police escorts of politicians in Bacolod before the election period on January 13 following the order of PRO-6.

He said politicians are only allowed two police security escorts, however, they need to send a security detail request to the Commission on Elections.*APN

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