PNP expects peaceful polls

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

THE Police Regional Office (PRO-6) sees peaceful barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections even as it raised its alert level over the weekend.

C/Supt. Cipriano Querol Jr., PRO-6 director, said they have yet to receive reports on election-related violent incidents (ERVI) in the region as of this writing.

Querol said they have yet to determine if the shooting to death of a re-electionist barangay kagawad in Calinog, Iloilo was election-related or not.

Querol is referring to the case of Rolando Lopines of Brgy. Dataga, Calinog, Iloilo who was shot dead on October 21.

Lopines was on his way home after a campaign sortie when an unidentified suspect waylaid him.

Querol said he had directed the Regional Investigation and Detection Management Division (RIDMD) to determine if the incident was politically motivated.

There are parameters in classifying a violent incident as election-related.

ERVIs are events which could affect or disrupt elections in the area or create a form of political tension that would eventually upset the electoral process, not only in the site of the incident but also in the surrounding areas on election day.

These incidents occur within the electoral period and can be classified as grave/serious in nature, and those that are less grave/less serious in nature.

ERVIs considered grave and serious in nature are:

- murder/homicide;

- serious physical injuries;

- kidnapping/hostage taking;

- bombing/grenade throwing;

- snatching of ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia with threats to lives;

- grave threats and intimidation and coercion with the use of firearm and explosives; and

- destructive arson of structure and equipment (ex: burning of polling centers, campaign headquarters, vehicles used).

ERVIs considered as less grave and less serious in nature are:

- mauling;

- destruction of campaign materials and the like, c) grave threats and serious intimidation and coercion with the use of other devices other than firearms and explosives;

- less serious physical injuries;

- malicious mischief; and

- snatching of ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia without threats to lives.

Querol said the Lopines killing must meet the said qualifications to be classified as ERVI.

Querol said that in the 2004 and 2007 barangay and SK elections, PRO-6 recorded three and seven ERVIs, respectively.

“We are intensifying our security measures to ensure that this coming October 25 Brgy and SK elections will be honest, orderly and peaceful,” he said.

Iloilo province has some 61,832 candidates running for various barangay and SK positions. A total of 4,190 bets are running for punong barangay and 33,792 for barangay kagawad.

Some 4,658 youths are running for SK chairman in the province, while 19,192 are seeking seats in the SK council.

In Iloilo City, more than 7,300 candidates are running in 2010.

The figures is comprised of 434 candidates for punong barangay, 4,102 bets for barangay kagawad, 456 for SK chairman and 2,244 for SK Kagawad.