• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) is working closely with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Philippine National Police and other stakeholders to ensure a safe, peaceful and credible May 12 elections in northern Negros.
“Our troops are fully committed to ensuring that the people of Negros can vote freely and without fear,” its commander Lt. Col. Arnel Calaoagan said in a statement.
In a recent encounter with remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the hinterlands of Cadiz City, the 79IB soldiers recovered extortion letters addressed to some sugarcane planters and businessmen.
Authorities are looking into the possibility that these could be also distributed to local candidates.
“There is always a possibility that these will happen. They have extended their extortion activities by dividing their ranks to much smaller groups or factions, which was evident in the last encounter in Cadiz,” according to 1Lt. Dan Carlo Somoza, 79IB civil-military operations officer.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has ordered its armed wing, the NPA, to enforce a set of policies for politicians entering into what it claims are “revolutionary areas.”
In a statement, the CPP said “candidates and their supporters will be allowed to conduct their election campaigns in accordance with established guidelines.”
Politicians are prohibited from bringing armed goons and police and military escorts, which the CPP claimed usually serve to intimidate the people.
It also said that the NPA has standing orders to seize the weapons of candidates and their armed goons. | GB
