|
Monday, January 12, 2004
Military to secure pols
By Manuel Quirino
KORONADAL CITY -- Even political parties adverse to government will be given ample security protection while campaigning in areas influenced by communist and Moro rebels.
Brig. Gen. Agustin Demaala, 301st Infantry Brigade commander, gave the assurance Friday.
Demaala also urged politicians not to pay the permit-to-campaign fees (PTC) the Communist Party of the Philippines vowed to collect from them.
Politicians must coordinate with military on their campaign plan to be given protection, he said.
The campaign period for those running for seats in the House of Representatives and for provincial, city and municipal positions will start on March 25, while those participating in the presidential, vice presidential, senatorial and party-list elections will start much earlier on Feb. 10. The campaign period, for both groups, will end May 8.
Demaala also said government troops are prepared for any untoward event that may crop up during the election period.
Earlier, Mohagher Iqbal, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief information officer, allayed fears of Moro rebels' intervention in the political workout.
"As a revolutionary organization, the MILF does not participate in any government-sponsored political exercise. The MILF is assuring the public that we would not be an obstacle to the government's political exercises," said Iqbal, who is also the MILF's peace panel chairman.
The MILF maintains a sizeable presence in Sultan Kudarat province and neighboring Maguindanao, where parts of the area are under the jurisdiction of the Army's 301st Infantry Brigade headed by Demaala.
The military official admitted there are election hotspot areas under his jurisdiction, but declined to identify them pending assessment.
But he went on to say that there would be lesser hotspots this election, considering that 14 towns in Maguindanao have mayors all running unopposed.
Last December, communist rebels announced they would impose a Mindanao-wide PTC fee among politicians. Demaala called on candidates to disregard the NPA policy.
"Our soldiers would secure the areas controlled by the rebels if the candidates would properly coordinate with us before campaigning there," he said.
(January 12, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
