4 barangays in Jaen eyed as ‘areas of concern’
JAEN, Nueva Ecija — Authorities are looking at placing four of the 27 barangays in this town under “areas of concern” in the run-up to the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) this October due to alleged intense political rivalry.
This was disclosed by municipal acting election officer Gershwin A. Matias to the Journal Group on Wednesday.
Matias, however, refused to identify the four barangays and their area of concern-category whether green, yellow, orange, or red since he said they are still awaiting the final results of the security assessment being conducted by the local police.
“Still under assessment ito, hopefully mabawasan pa itong apat na areas of concern dito sa Jaen. Kasi nga may barangay dito na magkakamag-anak ang magkakalaban, mag-tiyuhing-buo at magkapatid,” Matias said.
It was learned that a total of 1,118 bets filed their candidacies for the BSKE in this municipality, which has a total of 58,301 voters.
About 64 candidates are vying for the position of barangay captain and 520 for barangay kagawads while 69 are aspirants for SK chair and 465 for SK councilors.
Also, two candidates for barangay captain in barangays San Vicente and Imelda Poblacion are running unopposed.
Among the “big names” vying for barangay captain include Mayor Sylvia C. Austria’s son, Sydney Austria versus his uncle Michael Austria for barangay San Josef (Navao), and Ray “Jonjon” Padiernos Jr., nephew of GP Partylist Rep.Jose Gay “GP” Padiernos against two other barangay captain aspirants — Mark Anthony “Antong” Bernardo and “Rael” Del Rosario in Bgy. Lambakin.
Meanwhile, a new police commander was installed in this municipality in the person of Maj. Herbert G. Ocumen, erstwhile chief of the Rizal, Nueva Ecija Police Station.
Ocumen replaced former police chief Maj. Robert De Guzman last August 22.
