Mangudadatu asks poll body for armed escorts

Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu’s ordeal has not yet ended. On Thursday, the vice mayor of Buluan town in Maguindanao who lost his wife, sisters, and aunt in the November 23 massacre requested the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to provide him with more security personnel. Mangudadatu made the request amid continued threats to his life as he continued to prepare for the province's gubernatorial race. The vice mayor said he was being bombarded with death threats through text messages and phone calls. Eight members of his family need Comelec protection because their lives are also in danger, Mangudadatu claimed. The eight relatives are:

• Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Assemblyman Toy Khadafeeh Mangudadatu;
• Mayor Freddie Mangudadatu of Mangudadatu, Maguindanao;
• Mayor Datu Sajid of Pandag, Maguindanao;
• Mayor Ibrahim Jong Mang of Buluan, Maguindanao;
• Rep. Pax Mangudadatu of the 1st district of Sultan Kudarat;
• Governor Datu Suharto of Sultan Kudarat;
• Maguindanao Mayor Ruth Sakaluran of Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat; and
• Azel Villanueva Mangudadatu of President Quirino town, Sultan Kudarat.

“Last week nga, may nagtext sa akin, sabi, mag-ingat ka dahil hindi ka aabutin ng eleksyon, vice mayor (Like, last week, somebody texted me saying, vice mayor, you won’t make it alive to election day)," Mangudadatu told reporters after informing Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle about the threat and his request for additional security. Tagle heads the poll body’s Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Personnel. Mangudadatu said he had asked the anonymous texter about the threat, but the sender told the vice mayor he did not need to know the reason behind the messages. Sabi ko, ‘Sino ka ba? Kami na nga namatayan…’(I asked, ‘Who are you? We have lost loved ones already…’)" Mangudadatu requested the Comelec to give back the security personnel previously provided to him and his family by ARMM regional election director Rey Sumalipao. He also asked the poll body to provide them with two to four more security personnel each, considering the numerous threats that he and his politician-relatives have been receiving lately. “Ang aking mga kalaban ay napakalakas (My opponents are so powerful)," he said. Comelec Resolution 1814 bans candidates and private individuals from carrying firearms and hiring bodyguards during the election period, which will run from January 10 to June 9. (See: Comelec issues reso vs guns, goons on 2010 polls) But the poll body allows candidates with security threats to have two escorts each during the election period upon application and threat assessment. The escorts can come from the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, or the National Bureau of Investigation. The Comelec earlier said that more “protective agents" could be assigned to candidates “upon request and when the threat assessment warrants it." It also said that individuals who had been previously granted security detail would be issued temporary security permits good for 30 days while the threat assessment is pending. Tagle said Comelec officials would need to discuss Mangudadatu’s request. "Considering the special circumstance involved in the request... we will see if it can be granted or not for two more additional security personnel. We will consider these threats in assessing whether we will grant (the Mangudadatus) additional security detail," the commissioner told reporters. Mangudadatu said he would still be thankful if the Comelec would be able to give only some but not all of the security personnel that he and his family need. "Ok lang yun sa amin, at least mayroon kami (That's alright with us, at least we will have some)." "Kapag panahon mo na, panahon mo na (When it's your time, it's your time)," Mangudadatu added. Mangudadatu has been receiving threats since last year after announcing his intention to run for Maguindanao governor and challenge the Ampatuans who have long held power in the province. The Ampatuans, who are political allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, control 10 of the 29 towns in Maguindanao. It was in response to these threats that Mangudadatu decided to let his wife Genalyn and his female relatives file the certificate of candidacy for governor on his behalf at the Comelec office in Shariff Aguak town last November 23, in the belief that his political rivals would not dare violate the Islamic ideal of sparing women from war. The grisly massacre that resulted from that gross miscalculation has apparently convinced the surviving Mangudadatus that the state of emergency, the seizure of arms during last December's martial law, and now the Comelec gun ban, have not done away with the very situation that they started with: the reliance on armed force in the pursuit of political power. – ARCS/JV, GMANews.TV