Monday, May 21, 2007 Canvassing continues in Malita after slays By Carlo P. Mallo
THE killing of a mayoralty candidate and his son in Malita, Davao del Sur by the group of Representative Claude Bautista last Wednesday has not affected the canvassing there.
Commission on Election (Comelec) Southern Mindanao information officer Melcar Unso said there was an initial request from the board of canvassers to transfer the canvassing to another area. But this was later withdrawn.
Unso said Comelec Commissioner Romeo Brawner has also given the go signal for the canvassing to continue in the area.
This developed as Representative Bautista, who is running a governor for Davao del Sur, has become scarce, attempts to contact him having failed two days after the shooting incident outside the house of mayoral candidate Isidro Sarmiento, 67, and his son Danilo, 39.
Bautista was last seen by the public in a television interview after the incident.
Aside from the twin killings, there has been no case of post-election violence reported in that province, Comelec said.
Aside from the shoot out, the Commission on Elections provincial office in Davao del Sur reported only two other election related violent incidents, both on election day.
One was the alleged harassment of the supporters of another gubernatorial candidate, Douglas Cagas, in the Bautista bailiwick in Malita.
The second incident, also in Malita, was the alleged presence and intimidation of armed men in an unspecified town.
