CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) is considering to place Dumaguete City under yellow category of the election watchlist areas if the recent killing of a councilor there is proven to be election related.
Chief Superintendent Debold Sinas, director of PRO – 7, said an investigation is now being conducted to solve the murder of Miguel Dungog, who was shot dead by still unidentified assailants in Barangay Daro, Dumaguete City on Monday afternoon, March 25, 2019.
“Under investigation na to siya and we will find out if election-related. If not election-related, then we will not up to the category of Dumaguete City,” Sinas told reporters in a press interview on Tuesday afternoon, March 26, 2019.
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“As of now, we’re still waiting for the investigation. If it is election-related then we will up the category of this area,” he added.
Sinas said Dumaguete City is currently under green category.
A color-coding system has been implemented by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to classify the degree of election-related concerns in towns, cities, and provinces all over the country.
Those under the green category are areas with no cause for concerns; yellow for those with a history of election-related violence; and orange for those with the presence of armed and rebel groups. When all these elements are present in a certain area, then authorities usually place them under the red category, which is also known as a “critical area.”
A news report published by the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) stated that Dungog happened to be an ex-officio member of the Provincial Board (PB) of Negros Oriental as president of the Philippine Councilors League – Negros Oriental Chapter.
The victim is also seeking a position as a member of the PB from the province’s 1st District.
It added that authorities in Dumaguete City are eyeing politics as one of the possible motives behind his murder. /bmjo