• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Amid reports of vote-buying, the authorities have declared that the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in Negros Occidental on Monday have been “generally peaceful”.
Both the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office and the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Battalion have not received any report of election-related violent incident, especially in the 51 election areas of concern (EACs).
Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade, said that reports of vote-buying were already referred to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for appropriate action.
All three villages in Negros Occidental tagged as areas of grave concern or placed under the red category were able to peacefully hold the elections.
These include Barangay Minapasuk, Calatrava and Barangays Macagahay and Quintin Remo, which have reported presence of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.
Maj. Ronald Santillan, chief of Calatrava Municipal Police Station, said that until after the voting ended at 3 p.m., there were no untoward incidents reported in the northern Negros municipality.
“Even in Barangay Minapasuk, it is also peaceful. We deployed additional security forces in the area to ensure that we can be vigilant during the casting of votes,” Santillan said.
He added that the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections in their area of responsibility is a result of a well-executed security plan.
In Moises Padilla, Maj. Joevito Bose, chief of Moises Padilla Municipal Police Station, said the conduct of this year’s BSKE in the villages identified as election areas of concern were “very peaceful”.
However, the canvassing of votes for Barangays Macagahay and Quintin Remo as well as Barangays Montilla and Inolingan were instead held in Moises Padilla Elementary School in the town proper as requested by the Comelec to ensure a secure counting of votes.
“We are very thankful, with our constant prayer, the conduct of the elections turned out okay,” Bose said.
Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria echoed that the BSKE in Negros Occidental was peaceful.
He said that they are now investigating three incidents of vote-buying, including reports that candidates gave as much as P500 per voter, especially in hotly-contested barangays.
More than 5,000 personnel from the police, military and other law enforcement units were mobilized in Negros Occidental to secure the elections on Monday.
Still, Edralin said they are not letting their guards down as the canvassing of BSKE results is still ongoing. | GB
