The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has placed a total of 242 barangays under the "red category" for areas of concern ahead of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).
'Red category' — the highest category for areas of concern — refers to the areas prone to election-related violence, intense political rivalries, possible use of partisan or private armed groups by candidates, serious armed threat by terrorist groups, or history of being placed under Comelec control during elections.
On Wednesday, Commissioner Aimee Ferolino said that of the 242 barangays under the “red category,” in which 147 are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
However, COMELEC has not yet placed these 242 barangays under its direct control.
"When an area is declared under the ‘red category,’ that could be the basis for placing an area under Comelec control if the situation further intensifies. Parang nasa watchlist lang natin sila. Babantayan natin nang maige," the poll-body official said.
Aside from BARMM, other areas included in the list are Eastern Visayas (60), Bicol (21), Soccsksargen (5), Cagayan Valley (4), Western Visayas (3), Zamboanga Peninsula (1), and Central Luzon (1).
Meanwhile, 1,257 other barangays have been categorized under the “orange,” or second-highest, level of concern while 1,077 barangays have been categorized under “yellow” or third-highest level.
There are 42,029 barangays nationwide.
