On the inclusion of Pampanga as elections hot spot: Local execs express dismay

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Pampanga Mayors’ League (PML) was saddened about the inclusion of the province among  the fifteen elections “hot spots” as identified by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)

PML President and Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo said there is no basis to include the province of Pampanga in the list of the elections hot spots in the country.

Mayor Jerry Pelayo

“Wala naman tayong recorded na election related violence kahit pa noong nagdaang  elections,” he noted.

DILG Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas, earlier named the provinces which are considered “high risk” in relation to the upcoming mid-term elections.

This includes Pampanga Abra, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Cavite, Masbate, Samar, Misamis Occidental, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, and Basilan.

Reports have it that the DILG came up with the list based on the number of loose firearms, high-profile political rivalries, and past election-related crimes recorded in the provinces mentioned.

Pelayo added that records from the Philippine National Police (PNP) will show the crime rate in the province was dropped by 57 percent in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period last year.

“Sinabi mismo ni Secretary Roxas ng magpunta siya sa Clark  na bumaba ang crime rate natin sa probinsiya. Kaya nga nagtataka tayo ngayon bakit naisama tayo sa listahan ng hot spots,” the mayor stated.

Pelayo claimed that it would be unfair for the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines who were doing jobs to declare the same considering that the crime rate was tremendously reduced.