Monday, May 14, 2007 21 villages in Sarangani, Kudarat closely watched By Allen V. Estabillo
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has placed at least 21 villages in Sultan Kudarat and in Sarangani province under close security watch due to possible disruptions in the conduct of Monday's mid-term elections.
Updates in Sun.Star election timeline starting at 7 a.m. Monday (RP time)
Comelec Southwestern Regional Director Michael Abas said they included 15 villages in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, and six others in three towns of Sarangani in their list of "areas of immediate concern" or hotspots due to the noted presence of communist and Moro rebels in the area.
Join Sun.Star's online hotline with Comelec spokesman James Jimenez from May 14 (Monday), 6 a.m. to May 15 (Tuesday), 6 a.m. (RP time) and report poll-related incidents in your area.
A report submitted by Sultan Kudarat election office to the Comelec regional office considered the presence of armed Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) rebels and its sympathizers in Palimbang as a major threat to the conduct of the polls.
The mountains of Palimbang presently serve as the base of the MILF's 104th brigade.
The Comelec report claimed that at least 50 to 70 percent of the residents in the area are either members or sympathizers of MILF.
In Sarangani, acting Comelec supervisor Gertrudes Omana listed barangays Datal Anggas, Domolok, Pag-asa and Pamais, Sapu Masla in Malapatan and Malabod in Malungon, as among the areas of immediate concern.
In Malapatan, Omana said, they are specifically concerned with the presence of a big group of disgruntled former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members in the area, which it described as a "sleeping giant" in terms of membership.
The report said Malapatan has a candidate running for vice mayor who is reportedly "a known foreign-trained (MNLF) commander." The subject was not named in the report.
In Alabel, Omana said they are also monitoring the movements of alleged New People's Army (NPA) rebels in the area.
More troops
Meanwhile, Abas said they had sought for the deployment of additional troops in these areas to help thwart possible plans by the armed groups to disrupt the conduct of the polls, especially in the remote areas.
He said the troop movement, which was endorsed by the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) Eastern Mindanao Command, is scheduled early Monday.
Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani were among the 19 provinces in the country that were listed by the Armed Forces, which declared a nationwide red alert since Thursday, as priority areas for troop augmentation Monday.
The election-day troop deployment reportedly involves, at least, 54 military units, consisting of 11 infantry brigades and 29 infantry battalions from the Philippine Army and three brigades and 11 battalions from the Philippine Marines.
