BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Jan 9 (PIA) — The conduct of the 2013 elections in this province is expected to be a smooth-sailing exercise with the absence of possible hotspot, an official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

Lawyer Abraham Asuncion, provincial election officer said there are no threatened municipalities and barangays in the province because of the peace and order situation.

“As of now, we do not have any election hotspot barangays in our province. This signals a very peaceful conduct of the coming 2013 national and local elections,” he said.

He said that at present, there are 233,998 registered voters in Nueva Vizcaya who will cast their votes in 1,519 precincts and 403 clustered precincts.

The number of voters increased by 665 from the past record of 233,333 because of the continuing campaign for poll registration among the general population, Asuncion said.

Asuncion also added that while there were usual attempts on vote buying before and during the conduct of elections in the past, these were prevented because of the vigilance of civic organizations and volunteer groups organized by the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) as poll watchdogs and the compliance of the Comelec on the Automated Polling System (APS) .

He also attributed the peaceful conduct of the past elections on the vigilance of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In its report during the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) fourth quarter meeting, Police Senior Supt. Valfrie Tabian, police provincial director, also said the absence of private armed groups(PAGs) which can be utilized by erring politicians to sow terror and ensure their victory through violent illegal means.

Tabian also noted the implementation of the VISA Ordinance, also known as Oplan Verification of Identity and Stickers Authenticity(VISA) as a major deterrent against riding -in –tandem suspects who might prey on political personalities.