MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) failed to announce Thursday its list of "areas of election concern" for Halalan 2022 following the order of chairman Saidamen Pangarungan for a "re-verification."

Commissioner George Garcia admitted that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have already submitted their respective lists of areas where election-violence may erupt.

However, the poll body has yet release its own version.

"As of today may mga sinubmit na po sa amin. Pero wala pang en banc resolution declaring them areas of concern. The chairman deemed it necessary to order, for the last time, a re-verification, from AFP or PNP but from our own [field offices]," Garcia said in a press conference.

On Monday, Garcia said the Comelec may announce the list of "areas of election concern."

• List of 'areas of election concern' may be out by Thursday: Comelec exec

Defending the delay, Garcia said the poll body is being careful in tagging areas as hotspots to avoid disturbances in the lives of residents.

"Sabi ng AFP, PNP red ito pero nung kinounter check namin sa aming regional offices green. Bakit nagkakaganon? Natural lang na iba yung assessment ng AFP, iba yung assessment ng civilian component.

"We wanted to be very very careful because we do not want to hurt the regularity of the lives of the people in the particular area," he added.

Garcia said that so far, they have identified "more or less 300 areas [of election concern] nationwide."

• Comelec to use color coding system to identify election hotspots

He vowed to release the list "soonest."

Since 2018, the Comelec has been using a color coding system to determine the degree of election-related violence linked to a particular area.

Green means there is no cause for concern in the area.

Areas tagged yellow are those that have a history of election-related violence, while orange areas are those with armed and rebel groups.

Red areas, meanwhile, are "critical areas" in which conditions exist that may warrant a declaration of Comelec control.

• Philippine National Police verifying list of election hotspots