The Red Cross said Tuesday it was preparing for an explosion in election-related violence in the Philippines as the country gears up for national polls.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working to identify dozens of "hot spots" where violence is feared ahead of the May 10 elections for a new president and thousands of lower positions.
 

Of particular concern is the southern island of Mindanao, where 57 people were killed in November in the country's worst election-related violence.
 

"It is an area which is very volatile," said Jean-Daniel Tauxe, country head of the Geneva-based ICRC.
 

Prosecutors filed murder charges earlier this month against Andal Ampatuan Sr, the head of a powerful clan, and 196 others over the massacre. His son and namesake is already on trial, accused of orchestrating the murders of the rival Mangudadatu family.
 

Elsewhere, at least seven others have been killed in vote-related violence.
 

Red Cross 'first responders' as well as key emergency supplies, including blood, will be deployed in places where there the 'presence of armed elements’ could trigger violence, Tauxe added.
 

While a de facto ceasefire has been in place since the middle of last year, Tauxe stressed "security remains the core issue in central Mindanao."
 

"Prospects [in Mindanao] remain unclear," he said, noting that many people continued to live in fear.
 

Police have also said they were racing against time to crack down on some 100 private armies known to be in control of politicians across the country and to account for over a million unlicensed firearms in circulation.
 

Source: AFP