Saturday, May 05, 2007 Nalzaro: Culture of political violence By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has listed at 77 the total number of peole killed since the start of the election period in January. We only heard of political violence in other areas especially in places where warlordism still exists. But now it is happening in our own backyard. The latest election related incidents recorded were the shooting incident in Jaen Nueva Ecija, where political supporters and relatives of the town mayor were ambushed by the goons of the rival camp.
There was also the killing of the incumbent mayor of San Jose, Pangasinan and last Wednesday’s killing of former Sta. Fe mayor and mayoralty candidate Rogelio Ilustrisimo Sr. Wednesday’s incident happened just a stone’s throw away from the Comelec Provincial Office inside the Capitol compound. Ilustrisimo’s cold-blooded murder was a big slap on the face of the security personnel inside the Capitol compound because they failed to arrest the suspect despite the number of blue guards and civil security unit members deployed in the area.
During election time, if a politican is murdered, we can always theorized that the culprit or mastermind is the rival politician. In Ilustrisimo’s murder, police investigators immediately theorized that the motive could be political. If we pursue the political angle, we cannot blame the public to point an accusing finger at Ilustrisimo’s rival, Domingo Zaspa. especially that their rivalry for the mayoralty position in Sta. Fe was fierce.
Well, this could be unfair to Zaspa because there could be another motive and perpetrators. But even Zaspa himself admitted that he cannot stop the public and Ilustrisimo’s relatives from suspecting him. He denied any involvement in the killing, saying he cannot do it because he is a God-fearing man. Though, he admitted having been a victim of the late mayor’s alleged atrocities while he (Ilustrisimo) was still in power, but he already forgave him. In my exclusive interview, Zaspa narrated his sad story about the time when he and his family were forced to transfer residency outside of Bantayan Island because they were harrassed by Ilustrisimo.
Zaspa is calling for sobriety among his and Ilustrisimo’s supporters and urging the police to conduct thorough investigation of the incident to unmask the mastermind. He said he is willing to cooperate in the investigation and make himself available if authorities need him. But why should some politicians employed political violence just to be in power? Just imagine some politicians who have to adopt political violence just so they are elected as mayor in a small town. Do some of our politicians have conscience?
Violence is a common means used by people and governments around the world to achieve political goals. Many groups and individuals believe that their political systems will never respond to their political demands. As a result they believe that violence is not only justified but also necessary in order to achieve their political objectives. By the same token, many governments around the world believe they need to use violence in order to intimidate their populace.
It is already within our system that some politicians adopt the culture of political violence to be in power. I think it is high time that the public should unite and urge government authorities to stop these senseless killings during election time. We will also reject and condemn those politicians who are employing this kind of dirty practice. We should move now. Og dili karon, kanus-a pa man? Og dili kita, kinsa man?
