BEHIND THE SCENES

Guns, goons, gold and digital cameras
Alfred P. Dizon

The suggestion of a mayoral candidate in Pangasinan urging the Commission on Elections to set up “common registration and inspection areas” (CRIAs) where vehicles, firearms and identities of security escorts of candidates nationwide could be checked is simplistic and may not serve its purported intention of stopping election-related violence.

Any dyed-in-the-wool politician with guns, goons and gold wouldn’t go to the area complete with an entourage of bodyguards (who are oftentimes policemen) showing off unlicensed weapons of mass destruction.

This proposal wouldn’t work in the Wild West areas of Northern Luzon or other parts of the country where violence had been institutionalized by politicians as a way of life. You see, any politician in such areas without the three Gs are considered weaklings and ripe for the taking by the Grim Reaper. Checkpoints set up at random are better in deterring or catching criminals like violators of election laws.

Maybe, Mayor Rodessa Mendoza of Bugallon town was joking or wanted publicity when she wrote PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon and Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos to set up CRIAs in violence-prone areas in the country to stop a repeat of election-related violence that recently occurred in Jaen, Nueva Ecija and San Carlos City in Pangasinan. She attained her latter “objective.” Now, I’m writing about her.

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“The CRIA system could deter, prevent and curb election violence during election campaign period for the coming May 14 elections and the succeeding elections,” she said. “The inspection and registration should be done in a local Church parking area. It could also be done or repeated in miting de avance or in campaign rally sites.”

Mendoza sent a similar letter to the Catholic Church’s Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). Mendoza, who is running for mayor under the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, said the CRIA would be a Church-based program in partnership with all major “stakeholders” in elections, including representatives from the PNP, AFP, Comelec, PPRCV, local government units, non-governmental organizations, PNP provincial directors and local media organizations.

“If there is a so-called common poster area, there should be a CRIA during national and local elections,” she said. “As a peace advocate and proponent of a strong nation, CRIA should be adopted and implemented nationwide. The CRIA should be voluntary for candidates and their political parties in the transition period so the public, the media and local law enforces could identify every candidate’s security escorts, vehicle and their firearms.” ***

If ever this proposal were granted, which I doubt, the CRIAs would be modeling sites where politicians could go for photo sessions with the media and to show to all and sundry that they are clean and law-abiding citizens of the country.

In Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet where we are based, I don’t think there is a need for CRIAs as politicians in these areas don’t kill each other but merely make kantiaw when they meet. I don’t know of any politician in both areas who have bodyguards lugging firearms. If only police particularly in troublesome provinces do their job without fear or favor and without being controlled by politicians, violence would lessen. It is a fact that in some if not most cases, most cases of election-related violence involved cops who were under the payroll of politicians.

Jaen is an example where police security escorts of Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino and Jaen Mayor Antonio Esquivel earlier engaged in a shootout, killing two persons and wounding scores of others. In San Carlos City, Pangasinan, two unidentified gunmen sneaked into a gymnasium and fatally shot San Carlos City Mayor Julian Resuello. ***

Now, Calderon is considering the temporary replacement of Nueva Ecija Police director Senior Supt. Allen Bantolo following the Jaen shootout between followers of Antonino and Esquivel.

The provinces of Abra and Nueva Ecija, and San Carlos City in Pangasinan have also been placed under Comelec control following the election-related violence.

Four towns in Kalinga are also being monitored following information that election-related violence would likely take place there after a series of high profile killings like that of gubernatorial aspirant Rommel Diasen and an Indonesian priest.

According to PNP officials, the law enforcement body is now closely coordinating with the Armed Forces for the final arrangement on military reinforcements to help police during cases of violence. But some PNP officials reportedly want selective deputation of the military (during the elections) so as not to defeat their intention of not taking part in election proceedings.

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Elections are often characterized by guns, goons and gold, and lately – digital cameras. The Philippine Election Forum has proposed to concerned government agencies to equip election board of inspectors with digital cameras to help monitor possible cheating in the elections. But then, government officials have doubted the possibility of procuring enough gadgets for distribution to the 42,000 polling precincts nationwide, less than two weeks before election day.
The PEF, convened by the Comelec to ensure peaceful elections, include representatives from the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections National (Namfrel), the PNP, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Council for Evangelical Churches (PCEC).

The Comelec has released a P150 million budget for the PNP for its election-related duties before, during and after the polls. If the PNP would use the money to buy digital cameras, that remains to be seen.
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Maybe, proponents for the program could ask the police, politicians or government executives to ask rich jueteng lords in their areas to donate money for the cameras since it seems, they are the ones who could force these “blessed” and talented gamblers to follow their whims. But then again, this is a shot to the moon. I’m betting my last centavo but no politician worth his salt would support such measure if he is planning to cheat come May 14.