Place Zamboanga del Sur under COMELEC control now – LP

On the eve of the first-ever automated elections in the country, the dominant minority party Liberal Party (LP) renewed its appeal to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to place Zamboanga del Sur under its control as requested by LP leaders in the province following an outbreak of election-related violence against the party’s ward leaders and supporters.

The LP made the urgent plea as it pointed out the Comelec had placed seven areas—the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Abra, Dasol town in Pangasinan, Buguey town in Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Pantao Ragat and Matungao towns in Lanao del Norte and Davao City in Davao del Sur—under its control in preparation for the country’s first fully-automated polls on Monday, May 12.

ARMM groups Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The Liberal Party, in a statement, said the Comelec should include the troubled Zamboanga del Sur province in the list of areas under its control after the death on May 7 in Labangan town of two supporters and wounding of another supporter of LP mayoralty candidate Wilson “Kitty” Nandang.

The incident raises to 17 the total number of fatalities in election-related violence against LP ward leaders and supporters in Zamboanga del Sur alone.

An area placed under the Comelec’s control gives it complete supervision over law enforcement agencies and personnel under the area and theoretically could give any order to any government agency or official and personnel in the area to ensure an orderly and peaceful conduct of the elections.

“We appeal to the Comelec to seriously consider our recommendation to place Zamboanga del Sur under their control since several members of the party and supporters of LP local candidates have been killed already since the start of the year,” the LP urged.

LP leaders in the province have repeatedly asked the Comelec to place the province under the poll body’s control to prevent a spillover of violence.

“Placing the province of Zamboanga del Sur under ‘Comelec control’ will certainly put a stop to all of these killings,” LP officials led by gubernatorial bet and LP provincial chairman Vice-Governor Roseller L. Ariosa, LP provincial vice-chairman Mayor Domingo V. Mirrar, LP 1st district chairman Romeo G. Vera Cruz and LP 2nd district chairman Tirsendo C. Poloyapoy, wrote on May 5 to Comelec Chair Jose Melo.