12 Central Luzon towns recommended to be placed under areas of concern

The Commission on Elections has been asked to designate at least 12 Central Luzon municipalities as areas of concern ahead of the May 2025 polls, Police Regional Office 3 chief Brigadier General Redrico Maranan said Wednesday.

Maranan said the 12 municipalities are located in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan and Bataan.

“Alam naman natin ang Central Luzon ay talagang may mga intense political rivalries; may mga violent incidents din na nangyari noong mga nakaraang election kaya ngayon yung mga lugar na yun ay tinututukan at dinadagdagan natin yung mga resources natin na nandoon,” Maranan said.

(We know that intense political rivalries exist in Central Luzon. We are keeping an eye on these locations and have allocated more resources because of the violent incidents that occurred during the previous elections.)

Last October, Philippine National Police spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said an area can be declared an area of concern or under Comelec control under the following conditions: if an election-related violence transpired there, if there’s intense political rivalry, or if there’s a presence of private armed groups.

Maranan said the overall situation in Central Luzon remains “manageable” as the police leave no stone unturned in keeping the situation under control given that the election period is set to begin on January 12.

“Yung Comelec checkpoints ay naplano na natin kung saan natin sila ilalagay,” according to Maranan.

(We already have a plan where to place the Comelec checkpoints.)

In compliance with the mandate given by Interior and Local Secretary Jonvic Remulla, five private armed groups operating in Central Luzon have been dismantled, Maranan reported.

“Sa ngayon ay natitira na lang tayong isang private armed group. Ito ay nandoon sa probinsya ng Nueva Ecija, at ating binabantayan at minomonitor ang kanilang mga galaw,” said Maranan.

(We are keeping an eye on the movements of the sole private armed group that exists at the moment, which is in Nueva Ecija.)

An additional 200 cops have been deployed in Nueva Ecija in an effort to neutralize the remaining private armed group. —VBL, GMA Integrated News