Group calls for intensified efforts vs poll-related violence

Advocates of peaceful elections called for intensified efforts against election violence as they revealed Friday that 41 people have been killed and 11 others wounded since the campaign period began last February 9. According to a report by Vote for Peace 2010, a nationwide initiative headed by the Consortium on Electoral Reform (CER), 39 election-related violent incidents (ERVIs) that resulted in deaths or injuries happened from January 10 to March 25. Vote for Peace said the ERVIs can be partly explained by the continued presence of partisan armed groups and communist guerrillas, the proliferation of illegal firearms, and intense political rivalries among candidates. Political analyst Ramon Casiple of the CER noted, however, that there seems to be a "slowdown" in the occurrences of violent incidents since the Maguindanao massacre last November 23 because of the public outrage against warlordism. "Dahil na rin sa insidente ng Maguindanao massacre, nagkaroon ng mas mataas na effort na magkaroon ng peace covenant or peace pact sa iba't ibang probinsya," Casiple said in a press conference, adding that peace pacts have a "cooling effect" because they gather broad local support for peaceful elections that prevent local politicians from restoring violence. Despite this, Casiple said there must be intensified efforts from the police and military to disarm partisan armed groups and maintain peace, as he noted that there seems to be no “extraordinary effort" from the AFP and the PNP outside their normal duties. Fr. Leo Casas of the archdiocese of Masbate, where 10 ERVIs have been noted since the start of the campaign period, said the Church and civil society there are taking an active part in promoting peaceful elections because they are tired of the “culture of silence and culture of fear" in the province since the 1960s. “Ang sabi nga po nila, ang pinagkaiba lang daw ng Masbate sa Maguindanao is this: ang Maguindanao is wholesale [killings]. Ang Masbate naman, long before the election, the process of elimination starts," Casas said. The priest said he himself received a threat—a bullet in an envelope sent to his office—after he helped organize an activity promoting peaceful elections. Casiple said among the recommendation they will send to the Comelec next week is the placing of Masbate and Maguindanao under the poll body’s control even though the latter is in a state of emergency. Also among the group’s peace recommendations is the sending of additional military and police forces to the two provinces, and the calling of a “coordinative conference" among all stakeholders to “enhance coordination and collaborative work." — Johanna Camille Sisante/LBG, GMANews.TV