Poll failure declared in 2 Sultan Kudarat villages

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Violence erupted in two remote villages of Lambayong town in Sultan Kudarat, found on the southern boundary of Maguindanao, prompting the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare a failure of elections there, a poll official reported. Roel Rama, town poll officer said the failure of election was declared in Sadsalan and Udtong villages because violence had erupted in both barangays as Sangguniang Kabataan and barangay polls were being held. In an interview aired over radio station dxND, Rama said the rival candidates for Sadsalan village chief figured in a fist-fight that disrupted the elections and caused the teachers serving as board of election inspectors (BEIs) to abandon their posts. In Barangay Udtong, BEIs stopped the voting after unidentified armed men opened fire on the voting precincts, causing the voters and BEIs alike to flee. Police Chief Inspector Eugene Malilic, the town’s chief of police, rushed to site to rescue the BEIs, using the town’s two dump trucks. Rescue efforts, however, were hampered as police had to cross the swollen Allah River, which passes through South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces. The river had breached a protective dike early in October, triggering floods that inundated villages as far north as Maguindanao. Hundreds of villagers in Sadsalan, Udtong and two other barangays were forced to flee, Sigayan, Vice Mayor Arnold Guerrero of Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat had reported then. 21 BEIs yet to be rescued As of posting time, it was not known if police were able to rescue the 21 BEIs in the two villages. Malilic called on the BEIs to remain calm and to seek refuge in safe areas while waiting for the police to fetch them. Sultan Kudarat counts among the nine Mindanao provinces where clan feuds or ‘rido’ is rife, according to a study by the Asia Foundation, although at 18 reported cases, the province recorded the lowest incidence of clan feuds compared with the other nine provinces. The highest number of incidents was recorded in Lanao del Norte, which reported 164 cases. The Asia Foundation conducted the study a few months after the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre, in which over 50 people were kidnapped and brutally killed when they were on their way to file the candidacy for Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, then vice mayor of Buluan town. 'Rido'-riddled towns Clan conflicts, which break out over land disputes, business rivalries, gender-related crimes such as rape, and other causes such as thievery, have been ongoing since the turn of the twentieth century. The Asia Foundation estimates casualties resulting from these family feuds at about 3,895 deaths, 3,637 wounded persons, 2,143 transfers of residences, and 59 persons imprisoned. Sultan Kudarat, where some high-ranking police officers have even been implicated in ‘rido’, has reported the highest number of persons wounded, at 1,882. - Williamor Magbanua/DM