EDITORIAL - Everyone's responsibility

Political conflict is seen to affect at least three towns and one city across Cebu province as the 2016 general elections draw nearer. This prompted the Cebu Provincial Police Office to announce that it will recommend the towns of San Fernando, Dumanjug and Tuburan and the city of Bogo as election hotspots.

The longstanding feud between two families in San Fernando pushed the town to the top of the list of CPPO priorities for the coming polls. It can be recalled that during elections, the contending families would always trade accusations of electoral cheating, harassment, among others.

In Dumanjug, the mayor and vice mayor continue to bicker. Their rivalry had already reared its ugly head with both of them taking legal actions against each other. The police believe the town will descend into another political chaos as the election campaign hits the final trail.

Concerns about intelligence report on armed men from Masbate sowing fears during elections prompted the provincial police to closely watch the political affairs in Tuburan. During the 2013 elections, policemen arrested several suspected goons in the town.

Political conflict in Bogo and the fourth district would also not fail to hog the headlines during elections. And police are anticipating another intense rivalry as the two warring political families will be once again on a collision course.

As authorities are finalizing their plans, immediate action should be done to strengthen monitoring. Knowing their volatile political history, violence could erupt anytime in these areas, especially in Dumanjug where police believed politics was behind the ambush incident last December.

Now, the provincial police leadership should consider sending more policemen to those areas this early to thwart any election-related violence. Deployment of additional forces would also give the electorate more protection against any political harassment.

Of course, it helps if the Commission on Elections and the provincial police would take the initiative to gather those contending politicians for a dialogue. Any meeting should include making the candidates sign a covenant vowing not to resort to violence.

Because we are all stakeholders, making the May 9 elections peaceful should be everyone's responsibility.