The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has lauded various agencies in Eastern Visayas for the generally peaceful midterm elections, even in towns tagged as hot spots.

“We’re a bit surprised that even in areas under the red category, such as Sta. Margarita, Samar was peaceful. This is a result of months of preparations and joint security meetings,” Comelec Eastern Visayas assistant regional director Maria Corazon Montallana told reporters on Tuesday.

Sta. Margarita town is the only area in the region under the red category due to past election-related incidents and the presence of rebels and armed men.

There are 26 other towns identified as election areas of concern, which were placed under orange and yellow categories.

“We continue to exert effort to educate people to achieve peaceful conduct of elections. Everyone was working together, unlike in the past, when only Comelec, the police, the military, and the Department of Education were involved,” the Comelec official said.

The Police Regional Office 8 (PRO-8) declared the May 12 elections as generally peaceful, despite a few incidents promptly addressed by authorities, after more than 10,000 policemen from PRO-8, in collaboration with the Philippine Army and the Philippine Coast Guard, were deployed in various parts of the region.

As part of the election security, 79 Comelec checkpoints were in strategic areas in Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran provinces.

At least 71 people were arrested for violating the liquor ban, while 64 were caught for violating the gun ban since its implementation. A person was also arrested in Calbayog City for alleged vote buying.

Meanwhile, Montallana said all election results have been transmitted except for one to two precincts in each of the following towns: Burauen, Palompon, Abuyog, and Baybay City in Leyte; and Silvino Lobos, Pambujan, Las Navas, Mondragon, and Catarman in Northern Samar.

“There’s a problem with the internet service provider, which is why there is a delay, but we expect transmission from these areas within the day,” she added.

Comelec is confident that about 80 percent of the 3,259,554 registered voters from the region cast their votes during the May 12 polls. (PNA)