(L-R) Commander of the Philippine Army’s 302nd Brigade, Brig. Gen. Joey A. Escanillas, Police Regional Office 7 Regional Director Brig. Gen. Redrico A. Maranan, Comelec 7 Regional Election Director Atty. Francisco G. Pobe, INF (GSC) Philippine Army Col. Richard B. Rabaca, and Commander James Sabas of the Philippine Coast Guard, during the Regional Joint Security Control. (PIA)
CEBU CITY – Three areas in Central Visayas are still placed under the “yellow” category by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Region 7 due to election-related incidents in the past.
The yellow category means that the areas have a history of political unrest.
For instance the Municipality of Buenavista in Bohol was tagged as under the “yellow” category due to the shooting incident on Oct. 6, 2023 in Barangay Cangawa.
In Cebu province, Bogo City and San Fernando town are also under the same category due to election-related incidents during the 2019 midterm elections.
Politicians in San Fernando town who appeared on a drug list were gunned down one by one in the months leading to the 2019 elections, while a strafing incident was reported in Bogo City in 2013.
However, the Regional Joint Security Control Center (RJSCC) is now considering lowering the categories of the three local government units (LGUs) to green, which means the area is generally peaceful upon the recommendation of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“The Philippine National Police is trying to express that they somehow need to lower it down and take some actions to reach the level of the generally peaceful category,” said lawyer Francisco G. Pobe, Comelec 7 regional director, during the RJSCC’s 5th Coordinating and Command Conference.
Pobe disclosed that Comelec has already lowered Lapu-lapu City from the “yellow” to “green” category.
Lapu-lapu City was placed under “yellow” category in 2022 after a barangay councilor in Olang Island was gunned down during the election period.
“I saw before the figures in the City of Lapu-Lapu. So somehow, it lowered and that means… they are already belonging to the category as generally peaceful,” explained Pobe.
On a regional level, 98 percent of the LGUs in Central Visayas are currently placed under the green category.
“Out of 98 cities and municipalities of Cebu and Bohol, 96 are green and 3 are yellow,” said Lawyer Veronico Petalcorin, Comelec7 assistant regional director.
Gun ban implementation
Records from Comelec7 show that from Jan. 12, 2025 to March 15, 2025, a total of 19,610 checkpoints in the region have been established, of which 7,292 are in Bohol and 12,318 in Cebu.
A total of 115 firearms, 242 ammunition, and 5 weapons were confiscated, which led to the arrest of 96 individuals for violating the gun ban.
Data from Comelec show that Central Visayas has a total of 4,389,344 registered voters, of which 3,407,780 are in Cebu and 981,564 are in Bohol.
Cebu has a total of 4,120 clustered precincts while Bohol has 1,542.
The provinces of Negros Oriental and Siquijor are no longer under the coverage of Comelec7 as it is now under Comelec-Negros Island Region. (Zowanna Rose Lopez / PIA7 Cebu)
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