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Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Poll body places Pangasinan city under its control
PANGASINAN -- To avoid a repeat of the Saturday ambush that claimed the lives of a mayor and his aide, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday placed San Carlos City in Pangasinan under its control.
Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said Commissioner Romeo Brawner, the commissioner-in-charge of Region 1, proposed the placing of San Carlos City under the commission's supervision following the murder of Mayor Julian Resuello.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
Unidentified men shot Resuello while he was attending a local beauty pageant at the city auditorium on Saturday evening. The mayor, who sustained two gunshot wounds in the body, died Monday morning while undergoing treatment at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City.
Also killed during the incident was Resuello's civilian aide, identified as Jojo Martinez, who reportedly shielded Resuello from the bullets with his body. The mayor's police escort, Jaime Almonite, civilian aide Jonathan dela Cruz, and bystanders Alwin Fermin, Paulo Bino, Reyna Muñoz, and two still unidentified others were injured.
Abalos said that aside from San Carlos City, they are also thinking of putting Velencia City in Bukidnon and the whole province of Kalinga under Comelec control.
Kalinga Vice Governor Rommel Diasen, who had decided to run for governor, was killed recently.
The commission, according to Abalos, is also closely monitoring the situation in the third and fourth districts of Batangas where there is escalating tension due to political rivalry.
The commissioner-in-charge of an area under Comelec's control takes charge of the peace order situation in that place. Also, all gun ban exemptions are deemed revoked when an area is placed under the commission's control.
Abalos said the commissioners-in-charge could declare an area under Comelec control without having to ask approval from the commission's en banc. He, however, said the Comelec en banc could overturn any declaration when it deems the action necessary.
Last February, Abra was placed under Comelec control while Nueva Ecija was declared an election "area of concern."
In a press conference in Manila, Abalos clarified that the election body will remain in control as far as the deployment of the soldiers is concerned despite the order of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the military to augment police forces in solving election-related violence.
"If it's a purely military business such as fight against insurgency, then we have to respect that. She (President Arroyo) is the Commander-in-Chief. But if there are election affairs involved, the Comelec should be the one calling the shots. (The important thing) is that coordination should always be there," he said.
San Carlos Vice Mayor Julier Resuello, son of Mayor Resuello, said his father's killing was politically motivated. He asked the President to help them solve the case.
Julier, who was a few meters away from his father at the city auditorium when the shooting happened, said he received several death threats from unknown callers but vowed not to withdraw from the mayoralty race.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 1 Director Leopoldo Bataoil said they are considering politics as a motive behind the killing of Mayor Resuello but they are also looking into other angles, including business rivalry and vendetta.
Undersecretary for Local Governance Antonio Villar Jr. and House Speaker and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) president Jose de Venecia Jr. condemned the shooting incident.
Villar is the founding president of Biskeg na Pangasinan, a local political party founded by Resuello. Also, Resuello was a loyal member of Lakas-CMD.
According to Villar, the killing was barbaric and senseless.
De Venecia, for his part, appealed to the people of San Carlos to stay calm and pray for the soul of Resuello. (MSN/LCMY/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (May 1, 2007 issue)
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