Thursday, November 01, 2007 Cops watching narco-politics people By Nancy R. Cudis Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AFTER incumbent Carreta Barangay Captain Marciano Ando filed a complaint against his winning rival for allegedly using drug money in Monday’s election, more barangay officials claimed that vote-buying with drug money happened in their areas.
Lorega-San Miguel Barangay Captain Fortunato Parawan even considered narco-politics and the voters who were “under threat by a drug lord” as some of the factors for his defeat.
“Nagbaha ang kwarta pag election og gihulga ang mga botante (Money was given out and voters were harassed during the election),” he told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.
His rival Lorenzo Monsanto won by more than 100 votes.
Parawan said he received a lot of reports from individuals who got money from a drug lord living in their barangay.
They were reportedly given yellow cards as sample ballots containing the drug lord’s list of his chosen candidates, along with a threat that if they won’t vote for the candidates, they will be forced out of the barangay.
After casting their ballots, they were instructed to go to the house of the drug lord to get their money for their votes.
“Unfortunately, they are afraid to stand up to what they have seen and experienced. I am willing to help them if they seek my aid. But I can’t fight narco-politics by myself,” Parawan said.
Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador also said it is not a remote possibility that some barangay candidates were supported by illegal drug traders.
“We cannot name names but we received reports,” he said in an interview over radio dyLA.
Comendador, however, said that only a few of these candidates in the city were supported by drug traders.
Reelected Carreta councilor Antonio Conahap, Luz Barangay Captain-elect Nida Cabrera and Cheryl Robles, who ran but lost as councilor in Barangay Sambag 2, admitted the presence of narco-politics in their respective areas but for them, it is hard to prove.
Kamatuoran Inc., a church-based movement against narco-politics, said it received similar reports on vote-buying using drug money even before the elections.
Fr. Carmelo Diola, convenor of Dilaab, which is the mother organization of Kamatuoran, said narco-politics is an easy way of controlling an area.
“It’s hard to prove narco-politics because it (transactions) has no (official) receipts. The best thing to do is have a lifestyle check. But gathering of evidence should be done before reporting them to the Office of the Ombudsman,” he said.
The lifestyle check includes evaluating unexplained wealth of the person and knowing the kind of supporters backing him.
“We are part of the problem. We are also to be blamed. We know that vote-buying is wrong but we are silent about it,” Diola said.
Although there is no tangible evidence yet, Parawan said vote-buying was “clearly seen” even before last Monday’s elections.
“A lot of people flocked to a house in Lower Lorega last Sunday, during the election, and after the election. Last Sunday, we called the police but no one was apprehended,” Parawan said.
Sun.Star Cebu tried but failed to reach Mon-santo to get his reaction Ando, meanwhile, filed a complaint Tuesday against winning rival Eduardo “Boloy” Lauron Sr. for allegedly giving out drug money enclosed in sample ballots last Monday.
He presented six of these sample ballots.
Lauron denied the allegations, saying that he will not stop Ando from filing a case against him.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña earlier said that Ando’s case is something he cannot ignore. He will have lawyers evaluate all requests for legal assistance for Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) allies.
Dilaab volunteer Roger Paller said the barangay is a critical base for narco-politics, even as the group continues its information dissemination against narco-politics in parishes.
For media worker Rene Borromeo, who ran and lost as councilor of Barangay Lorega-San Miguel, poverty forced residents to allow vote-buying.
“They are also not politically mature and wise. They were threatened,” he said in Cebuano.
Borromeo said he was not surprised that he was excluded in the sample ballots of the alleged drug lord because he considers himself a crusader against drugs. (With JST)
