Saturday, October 13, 2007 Centcom lists candidates backed by leftist groups, sounds warning
AS the police and soldiers assess the situation in each barangay for the Oct. 29 elections, the military’s Central Command (Centcom) is warning against voting for candidates supported by the local communist movement.
Lt. Col. Oscar Lasangue, commander of the 3rd Civil Relations Group based in Centcom, said at least 20 barangays in Cebu and Bohol have candidates supported by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
In a statement sent to Sun.Star Cebu, Lasangue said three of the barangays are in Cebu’s mid-north area while the 17 barangays are in some towns of Bohol Province.
Lasangue said this was the initial information gathered by their troops.
In Cebu, he said there was one candidate for barangay captain and two candidates for councilor. Some of the candidates are incumbent barangay officials while others are new candidates.
Lasangue declined to identify the candidates, saying they are still validating the reports from the ground.
However, he said he made this announcement to make the people aware of this and to be wary of candidates who have armed persons with them during campaign sorties.
He revealed that in documents obtained from military operations in other parts of the country, the CPP-NPA plans to get 10 percent of the barangay’s Internal Revenue Allotment share and 10 percent of project funds for the barangay if their candidate wins.
He pointed out that this was one way of increasing its revolutionary tax collection.
“It is part of the agreement to their sponsored or supported candidates not to allow the military to put up detachments in their barangays,” Lasangue said.
Earlier, the Cebu Provincial Police Office said it will be giving special focus to Cebu’s mid-north area, where insurgency-affected barangays are located. (MEA)
