Tuesday, October 30, 2007 Police say NegOcc polls generally peaceful By Gil Alfredo B. Severino
BACOLOD City Police Director Ronilo Quebrar and Negros Occidental Provincial Police Director Rosendo Franco declared Monday's synchronized polls as peaceful with minimal election related violence and violations.
According to Quebrar, Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) had apprehended gun ban violator, making the total of apprehended gun ban violators to nine as of Monday.
"Other than this, we do not have recorded election related violence or election rules violation," Quebrar said.
"As far as liquor ban is concerned, absolutely none as of yesterday (Monday)," he added.
Likewise, Franco mentioned the Murcia incident involving the shooting of Mary Ann Marañon as the only recorded violence but the perpetrators were already incarcerated.
"Vote buying incidents were also blottered in Cadiz City and Binalbagan town. Other than this, NOPPO has not received any incidence of bloody violence in any area of Negros Occidental," Franco stressed.
"I have personally talked to the community in Escalante where many text messages were received although violence is negative in said area. I have personally met with our police operatives in Calatrava, seeing to it that no untoward incident will occur in those places," Franco also said.
Vote-buying
Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) registrars Mavil Majarucon of Bacolod City and Jessie Suarez of Negros Occidental found difficulty to stop vote-buying in the local scenes.
"Vote buying had been openly done in the Philippines, internalized over a long period and, therefore, had already formed part of our culture," Majarucon explained.
"People don't find vote-buying wrong anymore. They are in fact expecting it every election season," she added.
Majarucon stressed that as of Monday, 5:00 p.m., her office had not received a single written complaint when everybody is talking about it and would even say it is wrong.
"There are lots of phone calls and text messages reporting incidences of vote buying but none of them approached the office and file written complaints," she added.
Provincial Comelec registrar Jessie Suarez has a similar observation, saying, "Everybody is guilty of vote-buying that's why seldom will you see formal complaints against this."
Suarez explained that procedurally, it is sad that the person caught distributing money and is apprehended is not the real politician behind.
Suarez further explained, "There is a big difference between the real truth and judicial truth. The reality is, somebody is behind the distribution of money but judicially it has to be proven who that 'somebody' is."
"Now, vote buying is easy to deny and the recipient will not stand as witness." Suarez stressed.
Meanwhile, from the many reports similarly received by Suarez, only two cases had been properly documented, that of Cadiz City and Binalbagan.
All sorts of vote buying, from free food, free transportation, distribution of sports equipment, to money distribution were received by Suarez but no formal complaints were lodged as of press time last night.
