PNP tells Comelec that insurgency is foreseen as bigger problem as against political rivalry in Oct. 29 polls

By Ronron
October 10, 2007

Communist rebels and not fiery local politicians are the bigger threat in the upcoming village and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on October 29.

This was the security assessment given by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the two bodies’ conference Wednesday morning at Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Citing the PNP data, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said 10 percent of the 41,994 barangays nationwide are said to be under the influence of insurgents, while only four percent have violence problems due to intense political rivalry of local officials.

Jimenez said the PNP and the Comelec calls the areas with problems of insurgency as Election Areas of Immediate Concern (EAIC), while those with problems brought by politicians are Election Areas of Concern (EAC).

He said the PNP reported that most of the EAIC are from Region 5, Region 8 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where there are also secessionist groups.

Since the start of the election period on September 29 until Wednesday, a total of six election-related violent incidents (ERVI’s) have been recorded by the PNP, resulting in four deaths and one injured person.

The incidents include five shooting and one harassment. Killed were two incumbent barangay officials, one government official and one civlian, while wounded was one incumbent barangay.

A total of 40 firearms were also confiscated for violating the Comelec gunban, with a total of 46 persons arrested, the PNP said.

Despite these data, Jimenez said the PNP regards the current situation to be seemingly quiet, and “the overall assessment is that it will be generally peaceful on October 29.”

“If any problem arises, it will most likely be related to insurgency,” Jimenez quoted the PNP to have said.

On the part of the Comelec, Jimenez said acting chairman Resurreccion Borra assured the PNP that they are already “95 percent ready,” citing the completion of the production of the forms and the ongoing delivery of those to the respective barangays, day and night.

“It looks like we will meet our targets for October 29,” Jimenez said./DMS