A Senate panel on Wednesday, May 10, urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to place Negros Oriental under the poll body’s control in the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October, citing concerns about the province’s peace and order situation following the assassination of Governor Roel Degamo.
In its fourth hearing on the Degamo slay, Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chairperson Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa recommended to Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia to put Negros Oriental under its control after hearing testimonies of violence in the province.
“I am just recommending to you to please put Negros Oriental under Comelec control to see to it na walang mamamatay. Dahil ang dami ko nang naririnig na patayan, since 2011 [pa ‘yan],” he said.
“Life is not and must never be made cheap… Human life is precious. The life of a politician, of a journalist, of a police officer, the life of every ordinary citizen. Ito ang treasure natin kaya nararapat na pangalagaan at pahalagahan natin ito,” he added in his opening statement.
Garcia assured the panel that the poll body would urgently look into the matter once it has the power to put certain areas of the country under its control when the election period begins on August 28.
He added that the decision whether to place Negros Oriental under Comelec control or not depends on the recommendation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“Gagawin po ng komisyon, once na magsimula na po ang election period… Kasi magkakaroon kami ng command conference with the AFP and PNP, and we will definitely insist that as far as the issue of Negros is concerned, mabigyan kaagad ng tamang gabay ang komisyon,” Garcia said.
In an earlier hearing, Senator Robin Padilla had raised the idea of a military takeover in Negros Oriental to end alleged impunity in the province.
Meanwhile, Senator Francis Tolentino proposed to postpone the upcoming Barangay and SK polls in Negros Oriental due to the volatile situation in the province.
During the hearing, Garcia supported the recommended postponement.
However, due to gray areas in the existing election rules and procedures, Garcia said the poll body would conduct hearings across the province on the idea of ensuring due process.
Once the hearings are completed, Garcia added, Comelec would then decide whether to postpone or push through with the October 30 elections by the second or third week of September.
Security forces assigned to Negros Oriental and Central Visayas expressed support for the proposals.
Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director, Brigadier General Anthony Aberin said he was supportive of postponing the barangay polls in Negros Oriental so that the entire Central Visayas police force could concentrate on the province once the elections in other areas were done.
Philippine Army Third Infantry Division assistant commander Brigadier General Leonardo Peña, an official of Joint Task Force Negros, also said that more troops would be needed to secure Negros Oriental’s 557 barangays. This, despite the deployment of additional forces in the province last March following Degamo’s assassination.
On Wednesday, another batch of resource persons gave their testimonies on the spate of violence hounding the province.
Days before the hearing, another victim of the armed attack that killed Degamo on March 4 died on Sunday, May 7. With this, the death toll from the so-called “Pamplona massacre” climbed to 10. (ABS-CBN News)