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Thursday, May 13, 2004
Poll violence threatens canvassing of results
POLL violence continued to mar canvassing of election results in some parts of the country while President Arroyo and action star Fernando Poe Jr. kept a neck and neck fight for the presidential race.
A teenage girl died when an explosion ripped through the commercial district of Jolo town in Sulu, Wednesday morning. Police reported 14 other people wounded.
In Marawi City, one was killed and seven others were hurt when Marine soldiers opened fire on a group of people in front of the Mindanao State University (MSU) Tuesday night.
A civilian serving the elections was also killed, while two persons were wounded in separate ballot-snatching incidents in the provinces of Isabela, La Union and Kalinga Tuesday.
On the other hand, charges of massive cheating and vote buying are coming out against the administration while Poe kept the lead over President Arroyo with less than 50,000 votes in the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) partial, unofficial count as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Explosion
A homemade bomb jolted the commercial center of Busbus, Jolo, resulting to the death of 15-year-old Sheril Necilia, the Southern Command said.
The blast--which was reportedly from an improvised bomb packed with nails and sharp cut metals--occurred near the door of Busbus Bakery owned by a certain Bong Bahjin, who is said to be a relative of Jolo town mayor Suod Tan.
The latest bomb explosion was believed planted by terrorists out to disrupt the ongoing counting of ballots at the nearby Notre Dame College.
The school is approximately 400 meters away from the scene of the explosion.
The military in Jolo does not, however, discount the possibility that the bombing was the handiwork of disgruntled politicians running in the elections, and who were out to rig the polls in their favor by committing violence in the area to sow fear among the teachers acting as Board of Elections Inspectors (BEI).
Those wounded in the blast were identified as Noel Pinili Curtiz; Jackelyn Chang; Bernalyn Abiri; Saradi Asa; Jul Ibnu; Shernalyn Avera; Ismil Asi; and Gulam Taib and Minda Amil, who are both in serious condition.
The five others were not identified in the military report. All of the wounded victims were rushed to the Sulu provincial hospital, according to the Southern Command.
In Tipo-Tipo, its municipal hall was torched about Tuesday midnight, according to 103rd Army Brigade commander Col. Rey Ferrer.
No casualty was reported during the blaze, disclosed Ferrer in his official report to Armed Forces chief General Narciso Abaya.
AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero revealed that the perpetrators in the Tipo-Tipo incident have yet to be identified.
Lucero said the incident could be election-related, as the political situation in the town has been described as highly tense.
Damage to property in the burned municipal building in Tipo-Tipo could not be ascertained yet, according to Lucero. The Jolo bombing was the second reported during the election period.
It was learned that the perpetrators were reportedly bodyguards of certain politicians in the town of Tipo-Tipo.
Authorities said the explosion in Jolo, Sulu and burning of the Tipo-Tipo municipal hall were both election-related.
In Marawi City, one died and seven others were injured when soldiers fired at a group in front of the MSU gymnasium where elections results were being canvassed.
Marine soldiers said they were just returning fire when a group fired at them. One died in the shoot out.
Meanwhile, a civilian serving the elections was killed, while two persons were wounded in five separate ballot-snatching incidents in the provinces of Isabela, La Union and Kalinga last Tuesday.
In San Mariano, Isabela, three still unidentified men barged into the session hall of San Mariano municipal hall and burned the ballots that were being kept there. The perpetrators also carted away at least 10 ballot boxes.
One of perpetrators shot dead a duty officer and wounded another before they left the area.
Also in Isabela, 16 armed men ransacked the municipal hall of Jones and likewise set on fire the election canvass returns and other election paraphernalia.
Meanwhile, indiscriminate firing happened in front of Tubao municipal hall in La Union.
The perpetrators, who were clad in civilian attire and were believed to be members of Private Armed Groups (PAGs), attempted to grab several ballot boxes, which was foiled by responding policemen and soldiers assigned to monitor the canvassing of votes in the town.
Also in Tubao, La Union, two unidentified armed men snatched two ballot boxes in Barangay Amallapay. However, local policemen were able to recover one of the ballot boxes containing election returns during a follow-up operation. No one was arrested.
In a related development, ballot boxes from 11 precincts in Tinglayan town in Kalinga were reportedly snatched by the son of a mayoral bet and his supporters along the provincial road on Tuesday afternoon.
A report from the Cordillera police reported that Charles Albay, son of mayoral bet Fernando Albay, and his supporters blocked a vehicle transporting the ballot boxes and elections returns and ordered Commission on Elections (Comelec) personnel to alight from the vehicle.
Responding policemen failed to recover the ballot boxes from the suspects who fled towards Tulgao barangay.
Results
As of 8 p.m., National Citizen's Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) quick count showed Poe leading the race with 382,194 votes over Arroyo's 339,222 votes. Senator Noli de Castro also leads with 425,363 as against 418,961 votes of Legarda.
Authorities have said that at least 114 people were killed in political violence during the May 10 general elections and the preceding campaign period.
Some of the victims were slain by communist guerrillas extorting money from candidates, while others were killed by armed followers of political leaders.
(May 13, 2004 issue)
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