Comelec: Number of DQ may top 1K

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Monday that the number of disqualification cases to be filed against candidates for the October 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) over alleged premature campaigning might exceed a thousand.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that, so far, the poll body has issued show cause orders (SCOs) to 3,784 BSKE candidates.

Garcia said 542 of those given SCOs had submitted their explanations to the Comelec.

Last Saturday alone, the poll body issued 243 show cause orders to «erring» BSKE candidates, according to Garcia.

«Upon initial assessment, the commission is likely to file 214 disqualification cases among those who were given show cause orders,» he noted.

On the other hand, the Comelec has dropped 237 complaints due to lack of merit.

On Monday, the poll body is set to file 40 disqualification cases and will continue doing so in succeeding days.

Meanwhile, 246 villages nationwide have been included in the list of «election hotspots» submitted by the Philippine National Police to the Comelec en banc in relation to the upcoming BSKE, according to Garcia.

He said that most of these areas of concern are located in Samar, Bicol and Bangsamoro and at least two to three villages in the northern part of Luzon.

As of Monday, Garcia said they are previewing the 246 villages declared as areas of concern.

However, he clarified that while these villages are considered areas under the red category, it doesn't mean they will be under the poll body's control.

«That will not be the case. Areas under Comelec control are of a higher level than areas under the red category,» Garcia said.

There are four categories of areas on the election hotspot list: green, yellow, orange and red.

Areas under the red category have had histories of election-related incidents, intense political rivalries and the presence of partisan armed groups. These areas are placed under the control of the Comelec.

Meanwhile, areas under the orange category are those determined to have serious armed threats.

Areas under the yellow category are those with a history of election-related incidents in the last elections, possible employment of partisan armed