THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has placed Cotabato City in Mindanao and Daraga town in Albay under its control.
"In both cases, Comelec control shall be effective immediately upon publication of the resolution, and shall last until the end of the election period," Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez announced through Twitter.
Jimenez tweeted images of three resolutions passed by Comelec en banc on Tuesday, January 15 - Resolutions No. 10479, 10480 and 10481.
Resolution 10479 placed Daraga, a first-class town in Albay, under Comelec control because of recent killings.
The resolution cited the killing on December 22, 2018 of Ako Bicol Party-list representative Rodel Batocabe and his security aide, Senior Police Officer 2 Orlando Diaz.
A day after the Batocabe assassination, which was deemed politically motivated, two unidentified bodies were also found in Daraga.
The commission noted that the Batocabe killing has been blamed on Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo, who has been charged criminally and administratively. Baldo denied the accusations.
The Comelec resolution said the killings have sowed fear among the residents and are seen to affect the conduct of the May 2019 midterm elections.
Resolution 10480, meanwhile, placed Cotabato City under Comelec control because of the bombing incident on December 31, 2018, which killed two people and wounded scores of other civilians.
The bombing is seen to affect the conduct of the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) on January 21 and February 6 as well as the May 2019 elections.
Resolution 10481 lists the guidelines on the declaration of Comelec control over any area. (MVI/VoxPop Philippines)