4 NP bets killed in 2 weeks; Villar alarmed

At least four local candidates of the Nacionalista Party (NP) have been killed in the last two weeks, and an alarmed Senator Manuel “Manny" Villar Jr. is calling on the Commission of Elections (Comelec) and the police to stop what he calls a prevailing "climate of violence." "We may be able to modernize the way we vote and count the vote but can we really claim progress if some of us still resort to the Stone Age practice of just bludgeoning the opponent?"said Villar, NP president and standard bearer, in a press statement. Villar blamed the political killings to private armies, saying the current government crackdown on such groups doesn’t seem to be bearing any positive results. “Kung tuloy ang pagpaslang, ibig sabihin hindi epektibo at press release lamang ang kampanya laban sa private armies (These killings mean the campaign against private armies is all for publicity)," he said. Malacañang has formed a commission that would dismantle private armies in the wake of the November 23 massacre of at least 57 people in Maguindanao province. The carnage was blamed on the powerful Ampatuan political clan. Villar’s statement identified the slain NP candidates as: - Cipriano "Bobong" Albores, a former barangay councilor of Kinangan, Malita, Davao del Sur and an organizer of the Manny Villar for President Movement in the province; - Barangay [village] chieftain Wilbert "Dodong" Origines, president of Association of Barangay Chairmen and NP candidate for vice mayor in Taganaan town, Surigao del Norte; - Barangay chieftain Joen Canete, the party's candidate for councilor in Dingras town; and - Julio "Bimbo" Esquivias, NP candidate in Casiguran, Sorsogon and a retired police officer. Except for Esquivas, who was gunned down Tuesday, all the other candidates were killed in separate incidents last week. "Because they can’t be beaten fair and square they were beaten in a manner most foul. There is no other explanation for their tragic fate other than this: They were killed because they were winning," Villar said. - KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV