Out of the 23 towns in Cavite, five of them have been considered as “areas of concern” for the May 9 national and local elections, a provincial interior and local government said on Thursday.
In an interview, DILG Provincial Director Lionel Dalope told Cavite News Today that localities, including Kawit, Rosario, Amadeo, Cavite City, and Trece Martires City, were classified under the yellow category.
According to Dalope, yellow areas of concern have a history of election-related incidents in previous elections, the occurrence of politically motivated election-related incidents, and have previously been declared under Commission on Elections control.
In this year’s election, two of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s heirs will compete for the mayoral seat in Kawit: incumbent mayor Angelo Emilio Aguinaldo and his cousin, incumbent 1st District Rep. Boy Blue Abaya.
In Rosario, re-electionist mayor Voltaire Ricafrente will face incumbent vice mayor Mao Luna, while in Amadeo, Mayor Redel John Dionisio will face the town’s vice mayor, Conrado Viado.
The race is also expected to be heated in the cities of Trece Martires and Cavite, where Mayor Gemma Lubigan will face former mayor Jun de Sagun, and Cavite Vice Mayor Denver Chua will face the mayor’s daughter, ABC President Apple Paredes.
Meanwhile, Dalope mentioned that his office received reports about an alleged vote-buying incident in the town of Silang and that they are coordinating with the concerned authorities to further validate the information.
The provincial director also pointed out that the Philippine National Police were mandated to remain impartial in performing their duties for a fair and safety election.
