Village and youth council elections were postponed in 1,732 barangay (villages) Monday after the majority of them failed to receive ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia, the Commission on Elections said Monday.
Comelec Elections and Barangay Affairs Department (EBAD) director Teopisto Elnas told a news conference that this number constitutes 4.12 percent of the total 42,025 villages nationwide.
Elections Commissioner Rene Sarmiento attributed the failure to hold elections in these villages to either the late delivery of ballot boxes and election paraphernalia or to the onslaught of typhoon Juan (international name: Megi).
Earlier in a separate news conference, police Director Benjamin Belarmino, chairman of the national task force HOPE (Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections), said the majority of the villages that postponed elections were in the Bicol Region, namely: Masbate (551), Albay (321 villages), Catanduanes (315) and Sorsogon (246).
Other provinces that postponed their elections are: Pangasinan (19 villages), Isabela (87), Nueva Vizcaya (16), Cagayan (20), Tarlac (2), Capiz (20) and Aklan (2).
Elnas said that in Marawi City, 23 villages failed to conduct elections. Based on reports reaching the Comelec, the boards of election inspectors in these villages failed to go to the polling centers as they were barricaded and prevented from leaving.
Areas that failed to conduct elections on Monday will do so either on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to a resolution issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Comelec Resolution 9078, issued on October 24, states that if election paraphernalia and other forms do not arrive by 12 noon on Election Day at the polling centers, voting should be moved to Tuesday, October 26, or even on Wednesday, October 27.
“The Election Officer shall announce the postponement of elections in the polling centers affected and the date of resetting of elections,” the resolution stated.
Reports of postponed elections came Monday from several towns across the country. But Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body was still verifying these reports at the main Comelec headquarters in Manila.
Based on the Comelec official announcement, Jimenez said areas where there were postponed elections included Palanan, Divilacan, Maconacon, and two villages in Paniqui, Tarlac (San Isidro and Sumalague).
The same resolution also stated that in areas where election paraphernalia arrive before 12 noon, voting should proceed and continue up to 5 p.m.
“If after 5 p.m. there are still voters present who have not yet cast their votes…the poll clerk shall, without delay, list the names of said voters consecutively numbered.
“The voters listed shall be called to vote by the poll clerk by announcing each name three times in the order in which they are listed. Any voter in the list who is not present when called shall not be permitted to vote at any later time. The said list shall be submitted to the Election Officer,” the resolution said.
Despite the generally peaceful local elections so far, police noted incidents of vote-buying, vote snatching and alleged presence of armed groups.
Belarmino said reports of incidents of vote-buying and snatching took place in Abra. There were also reports of armed men in polling precincts in Antipolo City.
The incidents of election-related violence also went up to 47, where 32 people died in these attacks. Most of the attacks occurred in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“Compared with the 2007 [local] election, we still consider this as peaceful in the sense that the incidents of violence are fewer. In 2007, there were 67 ERVIs (election-related violent incidents),” Belarmino said.
Showing posts with label Election-Related Violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Election-Related Violence. Show all posts
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
5 killed, 7 wounded in day before elections
Five people were shot dead and at least seven were wounded Sunday as political tensions flared a day ahead of the national elections.
In Antique, three supporters of a mayoral candidate were killed and six others were wounded in an alleged shootout with policemen at a checkpoint in Tibiao town before dawn.
Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas, Western Visayas police director, said the fatalities were among 15 suspected armed men riding in two vehicles that ran through a police checkpoint along the national highway in the Tibiao town proper, around 75 kilometers north of the capital town of San Jose.
Police claimed they were fired upon by the men in the vehicles, prompting a gunbattle.
But the families of the casualties claimed the police had blocked the road with an unmarked vehicle at 3 a.m. and fired on their relatives without provocation.
Those who died of multiple gunshot wounds were identified as Efraim Pagharion, 62; Rogelio Pagsuguiron and Edgar Magtulis, all residents of Tibiao.
The wounded were identified as Edward Luceno, Arnulfo Migue, Andersito Bandoja, Frederico Eraga Jr., Peruno Leandro and Eliazar Pagsuguiron.
There was no report of casualties or wounded on the side of the policemen.
Six other passengers were unharmed, including Clement Bandoja, the son of Tibiao town councilor Gil Bandoja, one of four mayoral candidates of the town.
Bandoja, who said he was at home when he was awakened by the gunfire, said the casualties were all his supporters and were unarmed.
“My son, who was driving the Nissan Frontier, said they did not see a checkpoint. All they saw was a vehicle blocking the highway which made them suspicious. When they slowed down, they were fired upon by armed persons,” Bandoja told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.
The police said they recovered four .45-cal. handguns and a grenade from one of the vehicles.
Nonetheless, Cuevas ordered an investigation of the incident and has temporarily relieved the three policemen involved.
In Davao del Sur, two bodyguards of Malalag town reelectionist Mayor Ruel Paras were killed shortly after midnight in a shootout in Barangay Bulacan with security forces of a rival candidate, former Mayor Givel Montejo.
SPO2 Wendel Avila identified those killed as Gilbert Magallanes, 34; and James Salmorin, 55, a retired Marine. Another person was injured in the incident, Avila said.
Avila said Montejo claimed that she and her escorts, Cpl. Eddie Aquino and Pfc. Ireneo Losada of the 39th Infantry Battalion, were on their way to a village to check on reports that her supporters were being harassed when they met motorcycle-riding men who fired at them.
“We are still investigating who fired the first shot,” Avila said, adding that the incident was “clearly election-related.”
Davao del Sur has been placed under the control of the Commission on Elections.
Meanwhile, in Camarines Sur, a mayoral candidate and his two police escorts in Bula town survived an ambush attempt by motorcycle-riding men.
Candidate Homer Cleofas Razado, 42, told police he and his security officers—SPO2 Diego Magpantay and Nestor Villegas, 53—were driving home after wrapping up his campaign at dawn Sunday when they were attacked by the armed men. They escaped unhurt.
In Antique, three supporters of a mayoral candidate were killed and six others were wounded in an alleged shootout with policemen at a checkpoint in Tibiao town before dawn.
Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas, Western Visayas police director, said the fatalities were among 15 suspected armed men riding in two vehicles that ran through a police checkpoint along the national highway in the Tibiao town proper, around 75 kilometers north of the capital town of San Jose.
Police claimed they were fired upon by the men in the vehicles, prompting a gunbattle.
But the families of the casualties claimed the police had blocked the road with an unmarked vehicle at 3 a.m. and fired on their relatives without provocation.
Those who died of multiple gunshot wounds were identified as Efraim Pagharion, 62; Rogelio Pagsuguiron and Edgar Magtulis, all residents of Tibiao.
The wounded were identified as Edward Luceno, Arnulfo Migue, Andersito Bandoja, Frederico Eraga Jr., Peruno Leandro and Eliazar Pagsuguiron.
There was no report of casualties or wounded on the side of the policemen.
Six other passengers were unharmed, including Clement Bandoja, the son of Tibiao town councilor Gil Bandoja, one of four mayoral candidates of the town.
Bandoja, who said he was at home when he was awakened by the gunfire, said the casualties were all his supporters and were unarmed.
“My son, who was driving the Nissan Frontier, said they did not see a checkpoint. All they saw was a vehicle blocking the highway which made them suspicious. When they slowed down, they were fired upon by armed persons,” Bandoja told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.
The police said they recovered four .45-cal. handguns and a grenade from one of the vehicles.
Nonetheless, Cuevas ordered an investigation of the incident and has temporarily relieved the three policemen involved.
In Davao del Sur, two bodyguards of Malalag town reelectionist Mayor Ruel Paras were killed shortly after midnight in a shootout in Barangay Bulacan with security forces of a rival candidate, former Mayor Givel Montejo.
SPO2 Wendel Avila identified those killed as Gilbert Magallanes, 34; and James Salmorin, 55, a retired Marine. Another person was injured in the incident, Avila said.
Avila said Montejo claimed that she and her escorts, Cpl. Eddie Aquino and Pfc. Ireneo Losada of the 39th Infantry Battalion, were on their way to a village to check on reports that her supporters were being harassed when they met motorcycle-riding men who fired at them.
“We are still investigating who fired the first shot,” Avila said, adding that the incident was “clearly election-related.”
Davao del Sur has been placed under the control of the Commission on Elections.
Meanwhile, in Camarines Sur, a mayoral candidate and his two police escorts in Bula town survived an ambush attempt by motorcycle-riding men.
Candidate Homer Cleofas Razado, 42, told police he and his security officers—SPO2 Diego Magpantay and Nestor Villegas, 53—were driving home after wrapping up his campaign at dawn Sunday when they were attacked by the armed men. They escaped unhurt.
Malfunctions, poll violence on eve of elections
Delayed flash cards, malfunctioning vote-counting machines and sporadic election-related violence marked 11th hour preparations of the Commission on Elections for the country's first ever nationwide automated election on May 10.
Comelec and poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM said all but 2% of voting areas nationwide are fully prepared for Monday's poll. More than 50 million voters are expected to troop to 76,340 polling precincts nationwide and cast their votes for 17,888 elective positions.
Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said 2% of more than 75,000 clustered precincts in the country will experience delays in the delivery of compact flash cards due to limited transportation. Among the areas that will receive the delayed flash cards are parts of Northern Samar; Tineg, Abra and other remote areas with limited transportation.
The poll body earlier ordered a nationwide recall of all 76,000-plus flash cards for the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines after a configuration glitch caused the machines to make tabulation errors during the final testing and sealing of the machines last Monday. Smartmatic-TIM later sent out newly reformatted flash cards for all the machines starting Thursday.
Aside from the flash cards, Comelec said a new problem surfaced during the final testing and sealing of PCOS machines in Nueva Vizcaya on Sunday. Melo said I-button keys, which provide power to the PCOS machines, malfunctioned and Comelec will soon replace them.
As of Sunday noon, 94% of PCOS machines have arrived in polling precincts. Of that number, 70% to 75% have undergone final testing and sealing.
Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said up to 85% of the nation's 50,723,734 registered voters could turn up for Monday's election due to heightened interest in the automated election.
A total of 17,888 elective positions are up for grabs in the May 10 polls, including one president, one vice president, 12 senators, 222 members of the House of Representatives, 80 governors, 80 governors, 762 provincial board members, 120 city mayors, 120 city vice mayors, 1,514 municipal mayors, 1,514 vice mayors, 1,346 city councilors, and 12,116 municipal councilors.
Also to be contested by 187 partylist groups are some 45 available seats in the Lower House.
Poll violence increases
Five people were shot dead on Sunday in two remote parts of the country involving gunmen loyal to local candidates, while communist guerrillas also destroyed five-vote counting machines, authorities said.
The build-up to the elections has been typically tumultuous for one of Asia's most free-wheeling democracies, with dozens of people killed, ferocious mudslinging and dark rumors of illegal power grabs. At least 29 other people have been killed in political violence, including the victims of Sunday's violence, according to police figures.
The military and police, which have deployed tens of thousands of personnel to protect polling stations, insisted Monday's elections were expected to proceed without major unrest. "We expect some violent incidents here and there (but) we are prepared for the election. All systems are go," national police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina told reporters.
Comelec and poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM said all but 2% of voting areas nationwide are fully prepared for Monday's poll. More than 50 million voters are expected to troop to 76,340 polling precincts nationwide and cast their votes for 17,888 elective positions.
Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said 2% of more than 75,000 clustered precincts in the country will experience delays in the delivery of compact flash cards due to limited transportation. Among the areas that will receive the delayed flash cards are parts of Northern Samar; Tineg, Abra and other remote areas with limited transportation.
The poll body earlier ordered a nationwide recall of all 76,000-plus flash cards for the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines after a configuration glitch caused the machines to make tabulation errors during the final testing and sealing of the machines last Monday. Smartmatic-TIM later sent out newly reformatted flash cards for all the machines starting Thursday.
Aside from the flash cards, Comelec said a new problem surfaced during the final testing and sealing of PCOS machines in Nueva Vizcaya on Sunday. Melo said I-button keys, which provide power to the PCOS machines, malfunctioned and Comelec will soon replace them.
As of Sunday noon, 94% of PCOS machines have arrived in polling precincts. Of that number, 70% to 75% have undergone final testing and sealing.
Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said up to 85% of the nation's 50,723,734 registered voters could turn up for Monday's election due to heightened interest in the automated election.
A total of 17,888 elective positions are up for grabs in the May 10 polls, including one president, one vice president, 12 senators, 222 members of the House of Representatives, 80 governors, 80 governors, 762 provincial board members, 120 city mayors, 120 city vice mayors, 1,514 municipal mayors, 1,514 vice mayors, 1,346 city councilors, and 12,116 municipal councilors.
Also to be contested by 187 partylist groups are some 45 available seats in the Lower House.
Poll violence increases
Five people were shot dead on Sunday in two remote parts of the country involving gunmen loyal to local candidates, while communist guerrillas also destroyed five-vote counting machines, authorities said.
The build-up to the elections has been typically tumultuous for one of Asia's most free-wheeling democracies, with dozens of people killed, ferocious mudslinging and dark rumors of illegal power grabs. At least 29 other people have been killed in political violence, including the victims of Sunday's violence, according to police figures.
The military and police, which have deployed tens of thousands of personnel to protect polling stations, insisted Monday's elections were expected to proceed without major unrest. "We expect some violent incidents here and there (but) we are prepared for the election. All systems are go," national police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina told reporters.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
5 PCOS machines burned in Miagao Iloilo
Suspected New People's Army rebels burned down a school building with five precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines in a remote village in Miag-ao town in Iloilo Saturday afternoon, according to a police official.
No one was injured in the attack by around 20 unidentified and heavily armed persons at the Home Economics building of the Cadoldolan Elementary School at around 3:30 p.m., said Senior Supt. Renato Gumban, Iloilo police director, in a telephone interview on Saturday.
Cadoldolan is a hinterland village 20 km from the town proper of Miag-ao, which is 42 km south of Iloilo City.
Gumban said the incident was reported early Saturday evening by the two police escorts who managed to return to the Miag-ao police station.
The NPA has not issued a statement owning up to or denying the attack as of Saturday evening.
Citing initial reports of the two police escorts, Gumban said the PCOS machines were delivered Saturday morning and were being guarded by the two policemen and members of the board of election inspectors before the attack.
The policemen and teachers withdrew from the school, leaving the counting machines but taking the PCOS compact flash disks with them when they were informed that several armed persons were approaching the school.
"There was no firefight because our policemen decided to withdraw because of the overwhelming armed force," Gumban said.
Troops under the Army's 82nd Infantry Battalion have been deployed to run after the armed persons responsible for the attack.
Lawyer Elizabeth Doronila, Iloilo election supervisor, said reserved PCOS machines can be sent to the area and the elections could still be held because the compact flash (CF) disks were retrieved by the BEI members before the machines were burned.
The CF disk contains data on the assigned PCOS machine unique to a particular precinct which enables the machine to process the ballots and tabulate the results.
No one was injured in the attack by around 20 unidentified and heavily armed persons at the Home Economics building of the Cadoldolan Elementary School at around 3:30 p.m., said Senior Supt. Renato Gumban, Iloilo police director, in a telephone interview on Saturday.
Cadoldolan is a hinterland village 20 km from the town proper of Miag-ao, which is 42 km south of Iloilo City.
Gumban said the incident was reported early Saturday evening by the two police escorts who managed to return to the Miag-ao police station.
The NPA has not issued a statement owning up to or denying the attack as of Saturday evening.
Citing initial reports of the two police escorts, Gumban said the PCOS machines were delivered Saturday morning and were being guarded by the two policemen and members of the board of election inspectors before the attack.
The policemen and teachers withdrew from the school, leaving the counting machines but taking the PCOS compact flash disks with them when they were informed that several armed persons were approaching the school.
"There was no firefight because our policemen decided to withdraw because of the overwhelming armed force," Gumban said.
Troops under the Army's 82nd Infantry Battalion have been deployed to run after the armed persons responsible for the attack.
Lawyer Elizabeth Doronila, Iloilo election supervisor, said reserved PCOS machines can be sent to the area and the elections could still be held because the compact flash (CF) disks were retrieved by the BEI members before the machines were burned.
The CF disk contains data on the assigned PCOS machine unique to a particular precinct which enables the machine to process the ballots and tabulate the results.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Election-Related Violence is rising as election day nears
The level of election-related violence is rising as election day nears. Not a week passes when a candidate or local official is not killed or shot at. The Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research said last week that more than 90 people had been killed in the run-up to the national elections in May.
The series of killings, beginning with the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last November, has set the stage for possibly the country’s most violent election in recent history. Rommel Baniaol, executive director of the peace research institute, said, “There are just too many private armies, goons for hire and entrepreneurs of violence.” He urged the government to find ways to deter armed goons and ensure that they are not used for election-related purposes.
The present state of affairs indicates that not much has changed since Dec. 4 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the creation of a commission to oversee the dismantling of private armies in Maguindanao and other hot spots. The police themselves are not sure if they can dismantle the private armies. At a Senate hearing in December, PNP Director Andres Caro said the dismantling of the private armies could take one year, which means that they will still be around when elections take place in May.
There are 132 known private armies throughout the country and about 1.1 million loose firearms, most of them in the hands of groups commanded by political warlords. Think of the terrible mayhem and violence that these private armies could sow in the run-up to the elections and during the voting itself.
To be sure, something is being done, but it is being done piecemeal, and on a limited scale. For instance, the police have started to put the private army of the Ampatuans in Maguindanao out of commission. But the number of goons that have been detained and the number of firearms that have been seized are small compared to the reported actual strength of the private army and the reported number of arms that they stashed away in secret places.
In January, the Philippine National Police sent a 75-member Special Action Force to go after members of three partisan armed groups in Masbate, one of 15 provinces identified by the police as “election hot spots.” Eighteen suspected members of two private armies were arrested in police operations in Laguna and Masbate on Jan. 30.
Acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales described Masbate as being “in a state of political calamity.” He said he would talk with political leaders of the province to persuade them to sign an agreement for fair and peaceful elections on May 10. Police data show that 368 people were killed in Masbate in 2008 for political reasons—a big death toll for such a small island! And only 47 cases were brought to court, while the rest were recorded only in police blotters.
This is only Masbate. What about the other hot spots like Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Samar, Nueva Ecija and Abra? What is being done to break up the private armies in these places?
Actually, there was no need to set up a commission to go after the private armies. What was needed was political will and plain and simple law enforcement. Private armies are not allowed by law. For instance, in Maguindanao, according to Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, the civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs) had illegally armed themselves.
What is taking the police so long to dismantle these illegally formed and illegally armed private armies? The police cannot move quickly and forcefully against them because most of them enjoy the protection and patronage of Malacañang. An outstanding example is the private army of the Ampatuans which, up to now, is being handled with kid gloves because Ms Arroyo owes the Ampatuans a big political debt.
In the 2004 presidential election, 189 people were killed; in the 2004 polls, 148 were killed. With about two months more to go before the May 10 elections, 90 people have already been killed, and the death toll is rising every week. If the President is really committed to the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections, she should order now an all-out campaign to dismantle private armies and to confiscate all loose and illegally held firearms.
The series of killings, beginning with the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last November, has set the stage for possibly the country’s most violent election in recent history. Rommel Baniaol, executive director of the peace research institute, said, “There are just too many private armies, goons for hire and entrepreneurs of violence.” He urged the government to find ways to deter armed goons and ensure that they are not used for election-related purposes.
The present state of affairs indicates that not much has changed since Dec. 4 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the creation of a commission to oversee the dismantling of private armies in Maguindanao and other hot spots. The police themselves are not sure if they can dismantle the private armies. At a Senate hearing in December, PNP Director Andres Caro said the dismantling of the private armies could take one year, which means that they will still be around when elections take place in May.
There are 132 known private armies throughout the country and about 1.1 million loose firearms, most of them in the hands of groups commanded by political warlords. Think of the terrible mayhem and violence that these private armies could sow in the run-up to the elections and during the voting itself.
To be sure, something is being done, but it is being done piecemeal, and on a limited scale. For instance, the police have started to put the private army of the Ampatuans in Maguindanao out of commission. But the number of goons that have been detained and the number of firearms that have been seized are small compared to the reported actual strength of the private army and the reported number of arms that they stashed away in secret places.
In January, the Philippine National Police sent a 75-member Special Action Force to go after members of three partisan armed groups in Masbate, one of 15 provinces identified by the police as “election hot spots.” Eighteen suspected members of two private armies were arrested in police operations in Laguna and Masbate on Jan. 30.
Acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales described Masbate as being “in a state of political calamity.” He said he would talk with political leaders of the province to persuade them to sign an agreement for fair and peaceful elections on May 10. Police data show that 368 people were killed in Masbate in 2008 for political reasons—a big death toll for such a small island! And only 47 cases were brought to court, while the rest were recorded only in police blotters.
This is only Masbate. What about the other hot spots like Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Samar, Nueva Ecija and Abra? What is being done to break up the private armies in these places?
Actually, there was no need to set up a commission to go after the private armies. What was needed was political will and plain and simple law enforcement. Private armies are not allowed by law. For instance, in Maguindanao, according to Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, the civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs) had illegally armed themselves.
What is taking the police so long to dismantle these illegally formed and illegally armed private armies? The police cannot move quickly and forcefully against them because most of them enjoy the protection and patronage of Malacañang. An outstanding example is the private army of the Ampatuans which, up to now, is being handled with kid gloves because Ms Arroyo owes the Ampatuans a big political debt.
In the 2004 presidential election, 189 people were killed; in the 2004 polls, 148 were killed. With about two months more to go before the May 10 elections, 90 people have already been killed, and the death toll is rising every week. If the President is really committed to the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections, she should order now an all-out campaign to dismantle private armies and to confiscate all loose and illegally held firearms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)