Police Regional Office in Cordillera Administrative Region director B/Gen. David Peredo on Thursday (April 17, 2025) said they have ordered the Provincial Joint Security Control Center to submit regular reports on the peace and order situation to guide the Commission on Elections in its decision whether to place the province of Abra under Comelec control or not. To date, a total of nine municipaltieis have been placed under yellow and orange categories of election hotspots due to intense political rivalries. (PNA file photo by Liza Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The likelihood of Abra province being placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is possible but an official of the Police Regional Office in Cordillera Administrative Region (PROCAR) is hopeful that management of the peace and order situation will be done locally.
PROCAR director Brig. Gen. David Peredo said they have ordered the Abra Provincial Joint Security Control Center (PJSCC) to submit regular reports on the peace and order situation of the province to guide decision makers whether to place the province under Comelec control or not.
“Bibigyan namin [ang Comelec] ng report kung ano ang nangyayari sa Abra. We directed PJSCC to include it in their meeting and i-discuss ano ang recommendation nila (We will give Comelec a report of the situation in Abra. We directed the PJSCC to include it in their meeting and discuss their recommendation),” he said in an interview Thursday.
To date, six municipalities of Abra are under yellow category of election hotspots, or those with history of political unrest; while three are under orange category, which indicates presence of armed groups.
David said there has been no shooting incidents in Abra in the past seven days “because of the many interventions we have undertaken.”
“We hope this continues so that there is a need to place Abra under Comelec control,” he said.
“We do not want to call Abra’s situation as alarming but challenging and concerning. It is not to the extent that there is breakdown of law and order that is why we do not want to say that the situation is alarming, which may cause fear among the people,” he added.
Earlier, Asenso political group, led by Governor Dominic Valera and Vice Governor Joy Valera Bernos, and the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance Inc., members of which include Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, have called for placing of Abra under Comelec control due to the shooting incidents that are happening amid the effectivity of the election gun ban.
To date, areas placed under Comelec control are Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao del Norte and Buluan in Maguindanao del Sur due to an increase in election-related violence in these areas. (PNA)