Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Jerome Brilliantes
The new provincial election supervisor in Cebu has warned candidates not to resort to violence and intimidation to gain favor in the May 2019 elections.
Lawyer Jerome Brillantes, who assumed the post just today, January 7, said he also plans to meet with the top police officials in Central Visayas to discuss the election gun ban, which will start this Sunday, as his top priority would be to keep the polls in Cebu as honest and peaceful as possible.
He urged candidates not to use violence and intimidation, as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will not tolerate those who do.
According to Brilliantes, he will continue with what the previous provincial election supervisors have done, which enabled most of Cebu to stay out of the election watchlist areas (EWAs).
“Ang ato lang intense ang rivalry sa political pero more on wars on principle and idea. So, I do hope nga they will maintain that para pod sa mga constituents,” he added.
Brilliantes was the provincial election supervisor of Siquijor who was sent to Cebu as part of the nationwide reshuffling of election officials in the run up to the elections next year. He took the place of Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano who is now assigned to Siquijor.
Brillantes said he will be meeting with the officers of the Regional Police Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) on Friday, January 11, to coordinate plans for the start of the gun ban this Sunday.
He added they will be giving special attention to areas under EWAs, especially Tuburan town in southwest Cebu, which has been classified under the orange category, which means the place had previous election-related incidents, intense political rivalry and had history of armed threats.
Six other cities and municipalities were also declared as EWAs but placed under yellow category, a lower category which means they have the elements of those under orange category minus the armed threats. These areas are the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, and Danao; and the municipalities of Ronda and San Fernando./elb
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