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The classification of 701 areas as election "hotspots" should not be a cause of concern for the public, the Philippine National Police said Wednesday.

The declaration of hotspots lets the PNP assess if an area needs additional law enforcers, said national police spokesperson Senior Supt. Bernard Banac.

"Wala pong dapat ipangamba ang ating mga kababayan na ganito na ang sitwasyon natin. Maaaring sa susunod po na linggo, nagbago na ito," he told radio DZMM.

(Our compatriots should have nothing to worry about our situation. Perhaps next week, this would change.)

The 701 election hotspots comprise 42 percent of the country's 1,634 cities and municipalities, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said Tuesday.

Of the total, 223 are "areas of concern" under the yellow category. These areas have an intense political rivalry or a history of election-related incident in the last 2 polls, or were previously placed under the Commission on Elections' control, Albayalde told reporters.

Another 382 "areas of immediate concern" are under the orange category due to "serious armed threat" from communist and Moro rebels, and bandits, he said.

The "red" category, meanwhile, include 94 "areas of grave concern" that exhibit "combined factors" of the first 2 categories, said Albayalde.

ARMM has the biggest share of the red category with 27 areas of grave concern, followed by Bicol with 19, said Albayalde.

Metro Manila and Ilocos regions, on the other hand, do not have any area of concern, he said.

DZMM, 13 January 2019