More troops to be sent to 3 Cotabato villages

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - – The provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is deploying more soldiers and policemen in three districts in Kabacan town due to the presence of armed Moro groups supporting rival candidates for barangay positions.

Ivy Cervantes, Kabacan local government operations officer, said the Comelec has declared Barangays Aringay, Kayaga and Lower Paatan “areas of concern” due to peace and security concerns in these areas,

There were recent attacks by Moro factions in the three areas, including the bombing last August of a steel power relay pylon in Barangay Kayaga that cut off power for almost two days to many parts of Central Mindanao.