All 118 towns in ARMM declared poll hot spots

In what seems a dire portent of things to come, all of the 118 towns in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have been declared election hotspots for the general polls in May, the first time in at least four national elections. According to data obtained by GMA News Research, these towns make up 20 percent of all the election hotspots identified by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as of January 31. (See Table 1 and Map 1) TABLE 1.

When viewed on the map, all 118 towns of the five ARMM provinces could be seen as big and small splotches of color over a vast belt from from east to west, with Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur as the more compact areas in the east, and with the three island groups of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi as the more dispersed areas in the west. MAP 1. Many of these ARMM areas have had long-standing records of election-related as well as insurgency-related problems, and have thus been repeatedly classified as hotspots in successive elections. Of the 118 towns, 24 have been consistent election hotspots since 2001. (See Table 2 and Map 2.) TABLE 2. In Lanao del Sur, where the Commission on Elections (Comelec) held special elections due to alleged irregularities in the 2004 polls, 50 percent of the towns have likewise been declared election hotspots. The Comelec held special elections in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur in the 2004 elections following the “Hello Garci" scandal, a recorded conversation discussing vote rigging between a woman, believed to be President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and a man, allegedly former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. (See: 'Hello, Garci' Timeline) Unlike in past elections, the PNP has refused to provide a list of the specific hotspots for the 2010 elections. In 2007, there were 660 hotspots in the May 2007 PNP release. In 2004, there were 600. This year, the number of election hotspots is expected to increase as May 10 nears. MAP 2. History of violence Apart from the series of abductions that has happened in ARMM, the region has also seen the worst case of election-related violence in the country’s recent history. In November 23 last year, members of a convoy on its way to filing a local politician’s certificate of candidacy were halted in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province and massacred. Of the 57 casualties, more than half were journalists. (See: The Ampatuan Massacre: a map and timeline) Apart from journalists, the convoy also had relatives and supporters of Buluan town vice mayor Datu Ismael “Toto" Mangudadatu, running as governor of the province. Suspects in the massacre are members of the Ampatuan clan, with the prime suspect being Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., facing multiple murder charges. They were also previously charged with rebellion, which was subsequently dismissed by a Quezon City court last month for lack of probable cause. (See: Court junks rebellion raps vs Ampatuan patriarch, others) Over 60 police officers implicated in the massacre have also been placed under preventive suspension by the National Police Commission. (See: Cops linked to Maguindanao massacre get suspension) The massacre prompted Arroyo to place the whole province under martial law in December. Election-related violence in other areas On Wednesday, a Basilan-based bishop likewise urged the government to place Basilan, another province in ARMM, under martial rule after a series of bombings and attacks in Basilan’s capital Isabela, which left 15 people dead. (See: Bishop wants Basilan under martial rule after blasts) GMA News Research has also recorded at least six cases of election-related violence in the region from January 10 to March 10. One involved Ampatuan town mayor Zacaria Sangki, who is unopposed in his re-election bid, whose house was strafed with bullets and attacked with bullets on February 19. Sangki was unharmed. (See: Mortar attack at Ampatuan mayor's house injures two) Four other candidates, one for municipal councilor and three for village councilors, were also attacked in separate incidents in Maguindanao, Basilan and Sulu. Save for the municipal councilor who was unharmed, all three others died.—With Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV