The Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office (INPPO) is monitoring at least five municipalities and this city as “areas of concern” in the upcoming 2025 mid-term elections.
Areas named under the watchlist include the towns of Badoc, Solsona, Pagudpud, Pasuquin, and Laoag City
“These areas have history involving key officials and relative of candidates that may provoke an untoward incident,” Police Lt. Col. Jephre Taccad, chief of Provincial Operation Management Unit of the INPPO, said in a media interview on Friday.
Taccad said they have heightened security measures including intensified checkpoints and strict enforcement of the gun ban in anticipation of the 2025 midterm elections period, which officially begins on Jan. 12.
He said additional 60 police personnel from the Police Regional Office 1 were deployed in the province early this month to augment security operations while police visibility in strategic areas has been increased.
He added the public can expect more checkpoints to be established in various sites, marking the start of election period.
During the entire election period, which runs from Jan. 12 to June 11, it is prohibited to carry or transport firearms or other deadly weapons except for security forces and other individuals declared as exempted, among them prosecutors and judges. (Leilanie Adriano)
(Source: Philippine News Agency)