PNP orders feuding Abra politicians: Resolve issues

BANGUED, Abra – Police authorities here recently implemented a new peacekeeping strategy called “conflict mediation and diffusion” to ensure peaceful elections in the province during the coming May elections and prevent the province from being an election hot spot.

Chief Supt. Roberto Quinto Soriano, commander of the regional special operations task group Abra and deputy regional director for administration of the police regional office in the Cordillera, said police identified 10 towns in the province with intense political rivalry among the local candidates, thus, feuding politicians are required to undergo the CMD.

Under the new peace strategy, police officials invite feuding politicians to a “bull session” whereby they will confront each other with their grievances until they are able to reach a compromise to ensure peaceful conduct of elections.

 “We leave the talking to the feuding local politicians while we intensely listen to them until they are the ones who offer solutions to their obviously simple problems that are aggravated by intrigues among their allies,” Soriano said, adding mistrust and petty bickering is prevalent among feuding politicians.

According to him, rival candidates from Tinge, Dolores, Bucloc, Langiden and Malibcong who underwent the CMD process agreed to campaign as a group by presenting their respective platforms of government to lead the way in achieving the long desired peaceful elections in the province and to minimize the expenses during the 45-day campaign period for local officials that will start before the end of the month.

For the remaining five towns that were pinpointed to have intense political rivalry among local candidates, Senior Supt. Benjamin M. Lusad, provincial police director of Abra  and deputy commander of the RSOTG Abra, said the CMD process will  be enhanced during the campaign period considering police are receiving positive feedbacks on the interventions they are employing to achieve peaceful elections in May.

Lusad said their peacekeeping will be put to test during the elections, thus, they are on alert for incidents that could derail their efforts.

The Department of Interior and Local Government identified Abra and 14 other provinces in the list of possible hot spots during the upcoming elections because of their previous history of various election-related violence and incidents and political rivalry.

Soriano said the gains of the CMD is indication that people in Abra are already fed up with the petty bickering of politicians. -- Dexter A. See