By Lilia M. Micua
The City Elections Office welcomed the inclusion of Dagupan under the election watch list during the synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on October 25.
Lawyer Remarque Ravanzo, city elections officer, said he has nothing against the inclusion of Dagupan in the watch list because this could mean a police augmentation force will come to the city to watch the polls.
He believes that the reason why Dagupan was placed on the watch list was because of its past experience in the last election when two groups of candidates figured in a near clash in Barangay Bolosan, Dagupan.
Ravanzo said Dagupan's case is akin to that of Sta. Maria town, which was also included in the watch list mainly because the assistant election officer in that town was ambushed in the last election.
He said being placed in the watch list is an advantage because an augmentation force will be made available by the Philippine National Police to really prevent the occurrence of violence.
More policemen would be needed in the Bonuan area, being thickly populated and in the island barangays, being far from the city proper in the Dagupan mainland.
"But I still believe that even if Dagupan was included in the watchlist, the election in the city would be most peaceful and orderly," Ravanzo said.
At the same time, Ravanzo has announced that his office, in coordination with barangay pastoral councils, is set to initiate the signing of peace covenants for all candidates per barangay when the campaign period shall have already started on October 14.
He said it is possible that the PNP may also initiate a similar peace covenant among the candidates to really make sure that there will be zero violence in Dagupan in this election.
At the same time, Superintendent Romeo Caramat, chief of police of Dagupan, confirmed that there is really intense political rivalry in some barangays of Dagupan, that was why the city was placed in the watch list in this election.
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