Mayors league head hits Abra poll violence reports; no deaths

By Liza Agoot

BAGUIO CITY – The president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), Mayor Joseph Bernos of La Paz, Abra assailed Wednesday reports of political violence in the province saying peace and order situation improved. 

    Speaking during induction of officers of the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club on Tuesday evening at the Beneco Hall in this city, Bernos said for over a decade, no politician was killed during an election in the province.

    During the past four to six elections, Abra did not record any election-related killings, he said. 

    “The political landscape in Abra has changed. For the past three months, bago ang political dynamics sa Abra (the dynamics in politics is new), he said.” 

    Bernos said Abra used to be a perennial election hotspot and the province gained notoriety because of political violence.  

    “We are from the Cordillera, nakakahiya kami sa Abra kapag pinag-usapan ang election violence. Hiyang-hiya kami nadadamay ang Cordillera because we are a part of it (We in Abra were ashamed when election violence was being talked about. The whole Cordillera region is being dragged because we are part of it),” he said.

    Bernos said they have been trying for years to erase the public’s image of Abra as an unsafe place.

    During the recent Joint Security Council meeting, Brig. Gen. David Peredo, Police Regional Office-Cordillera director, said Abra was placed under the Commission on Elections' "Orange" category due to the previous records and not because there is an ongoing peace and order problem in the province.

    Code "orange" indicates the presence of armed groups and incidents of poll-related violence.

    “Because they have a record, they cannot be considered as green category but that is already past, it is different now,” Peredo said. 

    Meanwhile, with the ongoing Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA), Bernos said they are keeping an eye on the athletes, and noted that they have improved their standing compared to the previous years. 

    “For the first time in many years, as of Tuesday, we are number 2, next to perennial winner Baguio City,” he said. 

    He added as LMP president, he urged 27 participating municipalities to fully support the athletes. 

“We have to look at the welfare of the athletes kasi noon kulang ang support sa mga pangangailangan nila. This time we made sure that municipalities support the athletes (We have to look at the welfare of the athletes because previously, they lacked that needed support. This time, we made sure that municipalities support their athletes),” he said. -- PNA

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PUV consolidation deadline final - LTFRB

EDITORIAL

The deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV) is Dec. 31 despite transport strikes, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
    “The deadline will stay on Dec. 31, 2023. Beyond that, the LTFRB will not issue a franchise anymore,” LTFRB chair Teofilo Guadiz said in a briefing Thursday.
    Part of the government’s PUV modernization program is the franchise consolidation requirement, in which drivers and operators of traditional jeepneys and utility van express units must consolidate into cooperatives and corporations before Dec. 31, or else lose their jobs.
    All provisional authority and certificates of public convenience will expire on Dec. 31, unless they are covered by the extension to be granted by the LTFRB for consolidated units.
    This means that non-compliant jeepneys that do not consolidate will not be allowed to ply their routes after the deadline passes.
    The LTFRB said they have eased the application process, as operators only need a petition for consolidation by Dec. 31 and their provisional authority would be extended.
    The required number of members for the cooperative has also been reduced from 15 to 10 members.
    The agency is also studying proposals allowing two cooperatives to ply one route instead of having only one corporation.
    The LTFRB assured that there will be no transport crisis even if only around 65 percent of units nationwide have been consolidated.
    LTFRB technical division chief Joel Bolano said they have contingency plans.
    “Our objective is for the gap (in supply and demand of PUVs after Dec. 31) to be non-existent or manageable,” he added.
    Meanwhile, Land Transportation Office chief Vigor Mendoza said they are planning to file criminal charges against transport leaders and workers who allegedly coerced colleagues to stop operating following the recently concluded weeklong strike.
 

EDITORIAL

Comelec to Congress: Voter re-registration

The Commission on Elections appealed to the congress on Wednesday to allow a re-registration of voters to establish a more accurate list for the 2028 elections.
    Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia urged political parties’ representatives to call out legislators to allow re-registration of voters and to use new technology to improve voter identification during the     “Updates on Political Party Institutionalization and the 2025 National and Local Elections” conference held at The Bayleaf Intramuros in Manila.
    “In 2026, let’s annul the list of voters. Let’s convince Congress, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Let’s annul the entire list of voters in the entire country,” the chairman said.
Garcia proposed a month of general registration of voters to determine an accurate number of Filipinos who can vote in the upcoming elections.
    “This is to find out if there are really 68 million voters in the country. So at least, we’ll be back to zero in 2028,” Garcia said.
    Garcia stated the Comelec is currently using an Automated Fingerprint Identification System or AFIS, a system that the poll body uses to cross-match the biometrics data registrations of voters as part of efforts to eliminate double and multiple registrants.
    The chairman added that AFIS detected more than 491,000 double and multiple registrations prior to the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
    The Comelec said the agency aims to improve the voter identification system by using new technologies to ensure transparency and organization.
    “A lot has changed even if you say that no person has the same fingerprint of another, a lot has changed in that person’s situation,” Garcia said.
    “The question is how do we determine the accuracy of the system, and that’s what we want to know before we conduct a special general registration, allow the government to procure AFIS,” he added.
Garcia believes that the changes would be an avenue to address the problem of double and multiple registrations, as well as other possible election issues.
    Garcia was among the speakers at the event, along with Professor Julio C. Teehankee and Director Efraim Bag-id, which was initiated by Political Participation for Greater Electoral Integrity (PARTICIPATE), a non-partisan, pro-democracy coalition “dedicated to engage and empower the political participation of Filipinos, endeavors to bring together representatives from national and regional political parties, top party-list organizations, Comelec officials, and the media.”
    Efforts to strengthen and institutionalize political parties are part of the forum’s discussion.

EDITORIAL

Post-mortem of the barangay, SK elections

Its relevance may have been understated at times, but the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) is significant in so many ways.
    It’s the first BSKE in the Philippines in five years, the first large-scale poll conducted by the George Garcia-led Commission on Elections and the first nationwide election under a Marcos presidency.
    The polls are over, canvassing has concluded in all 42,001 villages, and the turnover between outgoing and incoming officials has begun. There were hiccups here and there, but the commission believes the October 30 vote was a success.
    More importantly, the election’s conduct and its aftermath are likely to cause ripples in the midterm.
    While the Comelec is independent of three main branches of government, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was not totally hands-off. His most significant contribution was signing into law the bill that rescheduled the electoral exercise once slated for December 2022 to October 2023.
    Watchdogs decried the postponement, especially because it wasn’t the first time that it happened. The polls were supposed to be held in May 2020, but former president Rodrigo Duterte also moved to push back the date of the elections.
    Veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal challenged Marcos in the Supreme Court, and won. The High Court handed the President his first legal defeat in office. It said Republic Act No. 11935 was unconstitutional, and its enactment amounted to a grave abuse of discretion.
    The landmark ruling came out in June 2023, which meant the postponement had already happened. The High Court nonetheless enumerated criteria so that elections in the future won’t be postponed for trivial reasons (after all, some lawmakers justified the postponement, saying that the country was still healing from the divisive 2022 presidential polls).
    The Supreme Court also ruled that after 2023, the next village-based elections should be held in December 2025.
    Election winners are left with a two-year term, shorter than the three-year term that barangay officials usually get.
    Aspirants for public office were undeterred by the shorter term. The Comelec received 1.41 million certificates of candidacy this election cycle to fill in the 672,432 seats up for grabs. That was a 23% increase from the 1.14 million COCs submitted in 2018, the last time the BSKE was held.
    The poll body – under past leaderships and in previous elections – faced mounting criticisms about alleged complacency, as candidates became more emboldened to campaign prematurely and buy votes.
    From the get-go, Chairman Garcia wanted to send the message that the Comelec means business, and that his leadership is all about reforms.
    The Garcia commission reinterpreted a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that took away the punishment for premature campaigning. The new Comelec said the doctrine that arose from that landmark resolution only applies to automated elections, not manual ones like the 2023 BSKE. It meant candidates wooing voters before the campaign period started could face repercussions.
    The poll body also made a permanent Comelec committee – named Kontra Bigay – to go after vote-buying offenders. That panel essentially sought to simplify the process of lodging complaints, and removed bureaucratic bottlenecks that complicated the poll body’s crackdown efforts.
    The commission has flagged 8,474 candidates for potential unlawful electioneering, and ordered them to submit an explanation. It also slapped disqualification petitions against 294 BSKE aspirants.
It remains to be seen if any embattled candidate – when all remedies in the justice system have been exhausted – will actually face the full wrath of the law.
    “What is essential here is ensuring that these violators are held accountable for these election offenses,” said the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), an election watchdog. “The continued failure to hold any person liable for vote-buying despite its widespread conduct has resulted in a lack of confidence in the electoral process in the country.”
    For now, at least 101 election winners with unresolved cases won’t be able to hit the ground running.     Their proclamation will remain suspended until the Comelec clears them of wrongdoing.
Can the public expect the same rigidity from the poll body in 2025, when the ones running for office are far more powerful and influential?
    “We will double the level of strictness, especially since we have national and local candidates,” Garcia said. “It is incumbent upon the Comelec to prove to them that we can do it not just in barangay and SK elections, but more particularly, in our regular, national and local elections.”
    The 2023 elections saw the return of the counting-sticks method to tally the votes, but there were three villages where the polls were automated.
    Barangays Zone II and Paliparan III in Dasmariñas, Cavite, as well as Barangay Pasong Tamo in Quezon City, used vote-counting machines on October 30, as part of the Comelec’s pilot test to automate future village elections.
    The project was in response to a ranking House lawmaker’s proposal to consider using the automated election system for the 2023 barangay polls, but due to logistics and budgetary constraints, the poll body limited the AES to three villages. -- Rappler
 
 

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Bontoc ili wins SK town council seat

The15 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairpersons of Bontoc elect their Municipal SK Federation Officers. Mark Branford Andaya, the SK Chairperson of Bontoc Ili won as Municipal SK Federation president, securing him a seat as ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Bayan.  Christy Mae C. Pangesfan, Bontoc LGU 

By Christy Mae C. Pangesfan

BONTOC, Mountain Province – The 15 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairpersons of this capital town elected Mark Branford Andaya as Municipal SK Federation president, securing him a seat as ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Bayan.
    Andaya won eight votes over his two opponents who were also nominated for the position during the SK Federation orientation and election on Nov. 14 at the mayor’s conference hall.
    Meanwhile, SK chairperson of Tocucan, Grant Hill Cattel, was proclaimed vice president after winning against one candidate.
    Other proclaimed officers were: Beverly Kam-mon Tuma-ak of Maligcong, secretary; Elmer Zuñiga Jr. of Gonogon, treasurer; Marcelo La Madrid of Talubin, auditor; Clarence Ing-inga Can-eo, public relations officer and Denis Kongoy of Samoki and Christian Fongao of Mainit as sergeant at arms.
Prior to the election, the 15 SK chairpersons underwent the SK Federation orientation facilitated by Municipal Local Government Operations officer Lourdes Claire Peel, Local Youth Development officer-designate Ross Kiat-ong, and Civil Society Organization representative Anton Zaren Nasungan.
Bontoc Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr., who administered the oath-taking of SK Federation officers same day, cited their crucial role in shaping the future of the community by representing interests and aspirations of the youth.
    “I encourage you to approach your duties with enthusiasm, integrity, and a deep sense of responsibility. Your ideas, initiatives, and passion will undoubtedly play a vital role in building a stronger, more vibrant community,” he said.
    Meanwhile, Andaya advocated programs that encourage the active participation of young people in local governance and community development, as well as initiatives that focus on improving education and skills development and supporting campaigns on health awareness, mental health, and fitness programs.
    The Board of Election Supervisors was composed of MLGOO Lourdes Claire Peel, Election officer Virginia Chokowen, and local legislative staff officer Coy Abel Pachingel.
    Panel of Observers were Municipal Treasurer Lourdes Austria, Saint Vincent’s School elementary department school principal, Christopher Che-es, Sr. and Bontoc municipal police station chief Maj. Pedro Tactay.

 

 

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209 Cordi cops awarded for work in b’gay, SK elections

CAMP DANGWA, La Trinidad, Benguet – Some 209 members of Reactionary Standby Support Force of Police Regional Office Cordillera were awarded for “exemplary performance of duty” during recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election 2023.|
    Awardees received their Medalya ng Papuri (PNP commendation medal) from Cordillera police director Brig. Gen. David K. Peredo Jr. here at regional police headquarters Nov. 3.

    The event was witnessed by deputy regional director for administration Brig. Gen. Patrick Joseph G. Allan; acting deputy regional director for operations Elmber E. Ragay;  chief regional staff Col. Julio S. Lazardo; regional staff and other Cordillera police personnel.
    In his message, Peredo Jr. commended the RSSF contingents for ensuring safe, orderly, and peaceful conduct of BSKE 2023 in municipalities of Abra.
    "You are the epitome of discipline that the PRO Cordillera family and whole of Cordillera Region are proud of. May this not be the end of your untiring support to your sworn duties and responsibilities.     Every day is a challenging task, of which we are obliged to be more vigilant at all times. I urge everyone to remain faithful and steadfast to our mandate as law enforcers," Peredo said.
 
 
 
 

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Comelec: Half of Baguio voters voted in BSKE

BAGUIO CITY — Only half of Baguio’s voters cast their votes for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls, the Commission on Elections Baguio bared last week.
    Comelec-Baguio City election supervisor lawyer John Paul Martin said only 89, 962 or 53.01% of total number of Baguio voters (169,711) cast their votes.
    There were 75,700 male voters and 94, 305 females. 
    The turn-out of SK polls was low at 49.52 % or only 23,152 out of the total 46,752 registered youth voters.
    Martin blamed the schedule of the polls timed for a long vacation.  
    He said Baguio residents could have prioritized family vacations than voting for BSK candidates.
    Martin urged government to schedule the next and succeeding polls were not timed during long weekends or vacations to encourage a better turn out of voters.
 
 

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Four dead in Cordillera barangay, SK elections

FOUR PERSONS in Cordillera died during the just concluded barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan elections, collated reports from police and sources bared.
    In Tineg, Abra, an unopposed candidate for Barangay chairman died of cardiac arrest before election started Monday morning, Oct. 30 in Barangay Lanec.

    Re-electionist and unopposed Barangay Chairman Jeffrey Tingday, died of cardiac arrest around 3 a.m. Monday at the house of Bong Veles, also a candidate for Barangay Chair of Lapat Balantay.
    Tingday was rushed to Rural Health Unit and later transferred to Abra Provincial Hospital, in the provincial capital in Bangued but declared dead on arrival.
    Meanwhile, a teacher in Baguio City collapsed while on her way to serve as electoral board in Aguinaldo Elementary School.
    The teacher, identified as Julie Busetan Paglilo, 46, a resident of Loakan Proper, was taken to Baguio General Hospital but was declared dead due to acute coronary syndrome.
    In Bucay, Abra police are investigating death of a farmer found at Sitio Dardarawas, Barangay Pagala in the town evening of All Saints Day, Nov. 1.
    The victim was identified as Rolly Alcaide Lumaoig, 68, resident of said barangay.
Police said the shooting incident took place around 10:20 p.m. but only reported to them around 11:20 p.m.
    After receiving a call about the incident, Bucay police and elements of 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company rushed to the scene and found Lumaoig dead near a black motorcycle with gunshot wound on his head.
    Earlier in Bucay, a man running for the barangay council here was declared dead while being treated at the hospital an hour after he was shot two times by still unidentified gunmen here at Sitio Nagpasinan, Barangay Bangbangcag.
Bucay police said the shooting incident happened around 7 a.m. of Oct. 18.
    The victim was identified as Catalino Turalba Sr.,52.
    The victim, resident of Barangay Bangbangcag was candidate for barangay kagawad.
    Police reported that Turalba was on board his motorcycle headed to Barangay Palaquio of the town.
    On his way, two men riding in tandem followed him. One of the suspects shot him two times with a pistol of unidentified caliber.
    Turalba’s murderers have not yet been found.
    Following this, Cordillera police director Brig. Gen. Peredo Jr. directed Abra police to guard all exit points of Bucay.
    Earlier on Oct. 9 in Bucay, police engaged a group of armed men in a gun battle early morning of Oct. 9 at Sitio Nagsangalan, Barangay Layugan.

    Bucay police and the 2nd Police Mobile Force Company were conducting patrol when they chanced upon more than five armed men and a firefight erupted between the two groups.

    One of armed men was wounded in the gunfight, later identified as Romnick Balmaceda, of Barangay Calumbaya, Dolores town.

    No policeman was hurt. Balmaceda’s companions escaped exiting the encounter site through the forested area.

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Scuffle with armed men stops voting

ABRA- In Tineg, a brief scuffle between men believed to be carrying handguns in their sling bags briefly stopped BSK election in barangay Lapat Balantay Monday morning.
    A group of men engaged in an argument caught on video showed men trying to snatch the sling pouch of a still unidentified man.
    It was not clear if the men were engaged in a shootout, but reports said one of the men fired his firearm in the air.
The scuffle ended when some women and men brought the man whose sling pouch was being snatched outside the polling area.
    The incident occurred in front of children.
    This prompted deployment of additional special electoral boards at said polling center.
    The deployment came after electoral board member-teachers refused to serve at polling centers due to the incident.
    Recently, the Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor said three police personnel were deployed in the barangay to serve as special electoral board members.
    Peredo Jr. said 71 policemen were trained for election board duties, who manned the polling precincts in Cordillera.
    Of these 60 were deployed in Abra and 11 in Kalinga.
    Still in Tineg, casting of votes in Lapat Balantay, Tineg, Abra was extended by about five hours after it was disrupted from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Monday.
    “They should have extended the voting in that barangay (village) until all the voters have voted,” Atty. Mae Richelle Belmes,     Abra provincial election officer said in a press conference at the command center of the Provincial Election Monitoring center here.
    Belmes said the situation stemmed from a shooting incident around 8:30 a.m. about 500 meters at the back of the voting center in Barangay Lapat Balantay but no added information was given.
    ”The election officer said the teachers were so afraid and trembling that they refused to resume the voting, but our rules said that the character of the voting in any election should be continuous and uninterrupted. If there is a question that is raised by a watcher, it should form part of the report but there should be no interruption,” she added.
    Together with members of Provincial Joint Security Control Center, Belmes immediately brought three police-special electorate board (SEB) using a chopper to replace the teachers and ensure the 258 voters at said precinct would not be disenfranchised.
    ”Our immediate action was to deploy a substitute. The voting place was located about six hours by walking from the municipal hall. We were able to reach the place in 15 minutes with the help of the Black Hawk of the Philippine Army,” Belmes said.
    Despite arrival of the new SEB, Belmes said the teachers refused to resume voting as well as refused to turn over election paraphernalia, even locking them in the ballot box.
    ”They have declared a failure of election and locked the paraphernalia. It is not within their function because it is only Comelec that can declare a failure of election,” she said.
    After hours of negotiation and explanation and upon Comelec’s order to arrest the teachers for violation of the Omnibus Election Code, the three teachers gave in and resumed voting.
    Belmes said she ordered the municipal election officer who was accompanied by the Commander of the 102nd Battalion to proceed to Lapat Balantay so there would be a Comelec representative in the area until proceedings were over.
Other incidents
Aside from the incident in Lapat Balantay, Belmes said other issues they recorded were presence of politicians in voting precincts where they are not registered and presence of a lawyer in Lapat Balantay when the problem was at its height, who was peacefully asked to leave the premises.
    Belmes said voting in Abra started at 7 a.m. except for Barangay Kalaw in Villaviciosa due to problems with supplies, due to negligence of electoral board.
    In Bangued, Abra, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the government took full control in Abra during BSK elections on Monday.
    “We would like to assure the people of Abra and the entire country that the Comelec is in control, our partners in the PNP (Philippine National Police), AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), Philippine Army, DepEd (Department of Education), we are in full control of the situation here in Abra and the entire country,” he said in a press conference there.
    He said Abra some teachers have been experiencing coercion and 30 of them have resigned as board of election inspectors).
    He said the Comelec, PNP, AFP and the DepEd worked as one to ensure voters will be able to vote and to ensure electoral workers, election officials and employees in Abra were safe.
    Garcia arrived in Bangued with PNP Chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. earlier Oct. 29.
    Acorda also allayed the fear of teachers who opted to stay and continue to serve in the BSKE.
Acorda said there are 144 police personnel trained to replace teachers who withdrew as BEIs.
Teachers probed
This as the Dept. of Education placed under investigation three Abra teachers who manned the remote polling precinct in Tineg town for declaring a “failure of elections” shortly after a gun was discharged near their school on Monday during the elections.
    Army soldiers augmenting security in Abra were the first responders when a Cal.45 pistol was fired about 500 meters from the back of an elementary school at 8:30 a.m. in Tineg “possibly to cause a commotion,” said Army Col. Ferdinand dela Cruz, commander of the 501st Infantry Brigade based in Cagayan Valley.
    Except for personnel assigned to protect a voting precinct, the police and soldiers tasked with securing the area must stay a few meters away from poll centers.
    Despite all these, Peredo Jr. said the recently concluded BSK elections were generally peaceful despite some incidents particularly in Abra.
    Peredo, in press briefing Oct. 30 at regional police headquarters in Camp Dangwa, La Trinidad, Benguet, disclosed eight incidents noted during elections.
    There were five verified election-related incidents, two yet to be verified, while another was not election-related. Most incidents took place in Abra.
    Peredo added 71 police personnel served as Special Board of Election Inspectors in the region.
    From the number, 11 were deployed in Kalinga Province while 60 were stationed in Abra after some teachers withdrew as poll facilitators due to intimidation by still unidentified men.
    Peredo added more than 300 candidates in Abra withdrew before the elections.
    The total number of candidates was 8,400.
    He said one major reason of withdrawal was because of community and family agreements where some of them gave way to their opponents, said to be relatives.
    Acorda Jr., had ordered an investigation into reports of rising violence in Abra amid killing of a poll bet as 250 candidates in the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in the province backed out from the race.
    Acorda said candidates relayed alleged security threats during a recent meeting.
    As of Oct. 20, a total of 250 BSKE aspirants had withdrawn their candidacies, according to Belmes.
    Most of those who quit were candidates in the SK polls who have relatives holding elective positions in the local government, Belmes said.
    These candidates want to avoid disqualification in case they win the BSKE, she said.
    Belmes said some candidates running for barangay chairman and kagawad were “forced to quit the race.”
    She said without a formal complaint, the poll body could not file a case against anyone who coerced the candidates to withdraw from the BSKE.
    The Comelec office in Abra said among those who withdrew from the BSKE were 48 bets for barangay captain, 88 for kagawad, 24 for SK chair and 90 for SK member.
    Abra’s capital town Bangued recorded highest number of BSKE candidates who withdrew with 49 followed by Licuaan-Baay with 40 and Tineg with 23.
    Of the 27 municipalities in Abra, only three towns –Danglas, Langiden and La Paz – reported no withdrawal from the BSKE.
    Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Operations Rafael Olaño, in interview, said withdrawals, which happened over a few weeks, were not due to security issues but mostly voluntary and came following agreement among community elders.
Gov. Dominic Valera and Vice Gov. Ma. Jocelyn Valera-Bernos earlier urged Oct. 14 deployment of more cops in the province amid rising tension following an encounter between policemen and an armed group in Bucay town.
    The armed men reportedly knocked on houses to persuade residents to vote for their candidates.
    At least 44 teachers reportedly begged off from serving in the BSKE this Oct. 30. – AD with  reports from Menchi Kinao, Aldwin Quitasol, Liza Agoot, Jun Elias, Stephanie Sevillano and PNA

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All BSKE winners in Pangasinan proclaimed

MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The proclamation of winners in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in the 1,364 barangays in this province has been completed, Commission on Elections-Pangasinan election supervisor lawyer Marino Salas said.
    In a phone interview Tuesday, Oct. 31, Salas said that at around 2 p.m., they were in the process of breaking the ties in two villages, which he did not identify, through draw lots.

    “The first proclaimed winners were in Barangay Malico in San Nicolas town at 6:40 p.m. on Monday. Proclaimed candidates could readily assume their post,” he said.
    Salas noted the large voters’ turnout although the election office is still finalizing the numbers since there are over 2.1 million registered voters in this province.
    He told candidates to take down all their campaign posters within five days and file the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) until Nov. 29.
    “Kapag dalawang beses hindi nag-file, hindi na makakatakbo sa susunod na elections. ‘Yung mga nanalo naman hindi makaka-assume ng kanilang post (They won’t be allowed to run in the next elections if they failed to file (the SOCE) twice.  For the winners, they cannot assume their post),” he said.
    Over 57,000 candidates in the province filed their candidacy for this year’s BSKE.
Salas assured that teachers who served as members of electoral boards will soon receive their honoraria through their election officers.
    Meanwhile, the Comelec and the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office reported no significant untoward incidents during Election Day on October 30 until Tuesday. 
    “Wala naman sa awa ng Diyos. Wala tayo na-experience na any unto ward incidents. Well, kasi meron namang mga security (There were no any untoward incidents by God’s mercy. Well, we have security measures in place),” Salas added. — PNA
 
 

 

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3 Ilocos Norte bets face vote buying charges

 By Leilanie Adriano

LAOAG CITY – Police filed  three cases against Ilocos Norte candidates running for village posts for alleged vote buying before the Commission on Elections office here Monday.

    “We have received so many reports of vote buying and, so far, there are three complaints that we have filed to the Comelec,” Police Col. Julius Suriben, Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office director, told journalists in an interview.
    He said two of the charges are from this city while the other is from Piddig town.
    “All reports and complaints on vote buying are properly acted upon if you help us gather and provide [pieces of] evidence,” he said, noting that they have received around 10 election-related violations to date, with the other still under investigation.
    To speed up the filing of cases, Suriben urged the public to direct their complaints related to the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to the nearest police station instead of posting on social media.
    “We have deployed quick reaction teams to verify and evaluate all reports that we received, even if sometimes we feel that some of these are just diversion(ary) tactics or they are just trying to mislead the police,” he said.
    “This election is so far the most peaceful and we hope this continues until the election is over,” Suriben said.
    Since the start of the filing of certificate of candidacy last August 28, the Ilocos Norte police has deployed at least 25 quick reaction teams to respond in case of emergency while security personnel have been deployed in areas of election concern.
    Of the 559 villages in Ilocos Norte, the Comelec has recorded a total of 3,319 aspirants, 442,385 registered regular voters and 142,082 SK voters.
    However, some villages in Batac City and Vintar town, among others, do not have candidates running for the position of Sangguniang Kabataan chairman and council members.
    On Monday, at least two police officers have been assigned per polling center, manning at least 50 meters away to the polling precinct.     They were issued handheld radios in case the polling places have no communication signal.
    Meanwhile, Senator Ma. Imelda “Imee” Marcos, after casting her vote at the Cabeza Elementary School, reiterated her call to extend the terms of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials for up to five to six years since the government continues to extend it nonetheless.
    “What we always do is to extend their terms so it would be better if we revisit the law and extend their term by five to six years,” she said.
    “For the SK, we should think of a system wherein there will only be one representative per barangay,” she added.
Marcos is the first national chairman of the Kabataang Barangay, which was created in 1975 and is aimed to give the youth an opportunity to express their views and representation. — PNA
 

 

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Barangay and SK Elections

 BEHIND THE SCENES 

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY –Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections were finally held after three postponements since 2018. Over the years, barangays have been a formidable factor particularly during elections.
    The polls, despite cases of violence, were a welcome breath of fresh air considering BSK officials have been occupying their positions for five years now. People have been clamoring for elections, particularly those unfortunate enough to have had bad eggs in their barangays. 
    Finally on Oct. 30, millions of voters trooped to their voting precincts to cast votes for their candidates.
    But there seemed to be an irregularity here since, according to political pundits, the Local Government Code stipulated their term of office was supposed to be only three years.
    There was an attempt by some legislators for the BSKE to be held in 2024. This irked then Senate President Tito Sotto, who said barangay captains would have a longer term than the president of the Philippines.
    Critics say national leaders today may have forgotten that in March 1982, Batas Pambansa Blg. 222 was enacted, setting the term of office of barangay officials to six years, which commenced on June 7, 1982.
    The original schedule for the BSKE was Dec. 5, 2022. However, Congress passed a law that postponed it to the last Monday of October 2023. Political pundits said this was so politicians could hold on to their supporters or officials in the barangay level – they who could boost their chances of winning during elections.
    Anyhow, observers say, the law (Republic Act 11935) was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. “The exercise of the right to vote as guaranteed and protected by the Constitution requires the holding of genuine periodic elections, which must be held at intervals and not unduly long,” the SC ruled.
    The SC recognized “legal practicality and necessity of proceeding with the conduct of the BSKE on the last Monday of October 2023 pursuant to the operative fact doctrine.”
    So after five years, three postponements and legal wrangling, voters elected their barangay representatives/officials last Oct. 20.
    Election of barangay leaders is supposed to be an embodiment of democracy and community spirit. This, considering the barangay is the smallest political and administrative unit in the country. There are 42,027 barangays in the Philippines as of 2023.
    Barangay is the native Filipino term for village. They were also called barrios. It was in 1974 when the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. decreed barrios be called barangays.
    Historians say “barangay” traces its roots to “balangay,” a wooden boat used by our ancestors to reach the archipelago.
    Linguists meanwhile say, “barrio” traces its roots to Spain. Barrio, in Spanish, means “neighborhood.”
    The Local Government Code of 1991 placed the Punong Barangay as the chief executive of the smallest political unit.     Thus, it is more precise to use “punong barangay” than “barangay captain” when addressing the elected head of the barangay.
    The Dept. of Interior and Local Government meanwhile says the punong barangay is imbued with powers of the executive, legislative, and judiciary, all rolled into one. The PB enforces all laws and ordinances applicable within the barangay and presides sessions of Sangguniang Barangay and Barangay Assembly.
    The PB also administers operation of the Katarungang Pambarangay, the community-based dispute settlement mechanism at the barangay level.
    A punong barangay today, unlike in the past, must possess managerial and administrative skills in running and crafting barangay development plans, according to the Dept. of Interior and Local Government which holds seminars for barangay officials on governance.    
    The powers and functions of the barangay, down to its officials, have evolved much. Barangay officials now hold political power.
    The Local Government Code, with its “devolution,” conferred powers and authority to barangay officials to perform specific functions and responsibilities unlike in the past. So now, many Filipinos aspire to become barangay officials whether through foul or fair means.
    According to the Commission on Elections, there were 672,000 seats up for grabs in the Oct. 30 elections. There were 1.41 million people who filed their candidacies, including 828,644 candidates for the barangay council (kagawad) and 585,843 candidates for the youth council.
    But in cases like what happened in Abra, there were mass withdrawals, (more than 250) of candidacies due to harassment of coercion by rival candidates or politicians.
    The SK is supposed to be the embodiment of the youth’s participation in nation building. The youth are empowered through electoral exercise to choose their leaders and whom to represent them in the barangay and municipal/city councils.
    Criticisms have been rife however, that the SK has become a breeding place here the youth learn the basics of politics and corruption. Records bared many barangay officials came from the ranks of the SK.
    Observers say however that one positive aspect of the SK election today is application of the anti-dynasty law at levels of the local government unit.
    Republic Act 10742, also known as the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015, stipulates  SK candidates “must not be related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent elected national official or to any incumbent elected regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay official, in the locality where he or she seeks to be elected.”
    Thus SK candidates (between the ages of 18 and 24) are disqualified if any of his or her parents, siblings, and grandparents, as well as their spouse, parents, and siblings, is an incumbent elected government official.
    A few years back before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2018. there were many barangays where SK candidates fell short of desired members of the SK council due to this.
    There were also many barangays without candidates for SK chairperson.
    The anti-dynasty component somehow opened opportunities for many youths outside political families to run in elections without backing of traditional political machinery.
    The anti-dynasty law at the SK level, somehow, was a welcome electoral reform for citizens who were sick and tired of political dynasties. If this is not being done outside of the SK, the answer is obvious.
 

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Stricter gun laws

 

EDITORIAL

A party-list lawmaker on Tuesday called for stricter gun control in the Philippines after the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKEs).
    Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera called for gun law reforms due to proliferation of unlicensed firearms and smuggled guns. A report of the government-run Philippine News Agency said the lawmaker also called for tougher and swifter administrative penalties, not just longer prison sentences,
    She said it was also time to conduct fact-finding investigations on private armies and extrajudicial killings.
“What is concerning is the persistence of the violence in some localities with long histories of unrest and animosities. They have not grown tired of violence when many others have transformed into peaceful and progressive communities,” she said.
Herrera commended the Commission on Elections, the Philippine National Police, and Board of Election Inspectors for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the BSKE.
    “Though there were incidents of violence leading to and on Election Day itself, all those taken together would still be few considering there are over 42,000 barangays,” she said.
    Deputy Speaker Camille Villar, meanwhile, was quoted as saying newly elected barangay and SK officials should buckle down to serious work and deliver on their campaign pledges.
    “The tasks before them are broad and diverse, and they have limited time to make a significant impact in their communities and on the lives of their constituents,” Villar said.
    She also expressed hope that the new leaders would be trustworthy and reliable in carrying out their duties and responsibilities and would not fall victim to the system of corruption and selfishness.
    BHW Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co urged reelected incumbents and the new public servants to become familiar with the many new laws Congress has passed and to implement well those that are relevant to their barangays.
    “As one of the younger members of the House of Representatives, my advice to the Sangguniang Kabataan is that they help their cities and municipalities monitor the implementation of public works projects in their barangays,” Co said.
    Based on Comelec data, up for grabs in Monday’s polls were 42,007 positions each for village chair and youth chair and 294,007 each for village council members and youth council members.
    The same data showed there were 67.8 million registered voters for the village polls and 23.2 million registered youth voters.
    Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the BSKE went smoothly and was generally peaceful.
Election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has reported violent incidents during the BSKE, many of which happened in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
 

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Widow of slain barangay chief bet wins in Pangasinan

By Gabriel L. Cardinoza

DAGUPAN CITY — The widow of the candidate for village chief, who was shot and killed eight days before the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), is now the new village captain of Barangay Bayaoas in Aguilar, Pangasinan.

    Provincial election supervisor Marino Salas said that Jacqueline Flormata was among the 1,364 Pangasinan village heads proclaimed as winners by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday.
    Flormata filed her certificate of candidacy as a substitute for her husband, Arnel Flormata, who was shot and killed while campaigning in their village on October 22.
    Jacqueline defeated the incumbent village chief, Maria Magnolia Gelido, 58, who was arrested after she was tagged as the alleged mastermind in the shooting of Flormata.
    Salas also said the alleged gunman, Kelly Doroy Rosario, 54, lost in his candidacy as village councilor in Barangay Dorongan Punta, Mangatarem town.
    In Malasiqui town, Salvador Tan Garcia, an incumbent village councilor, is now the new village chief of Barangay Asin East.
    Garcia was wounded after he was shot last October 3.
    Salas said that despite the two shooting incidents during the election period, Monday’s BSKE was “generally peaceful and orderly.”
    He thanked the Regional Police Office 1 in San Fernando City, La Union, for sending policemen to augment the police forces in Pangasinan.
    Additional policemen were assigned in the orange category villages of Bayaoas and Asin East to ensure the security of residents and members of the electoral board.
    Salas noted that the voter turnout was high, although he could not yet give the exact number on Wednesday because they have yet to collate the reports from 46 towns and four cities of the province, with more than 2 million registered voters.
Salas said the first village officials to be proclaimed winners were those in the mountain village of Malico in San Nicolas town.     They were proclaimed at 6:40 p.m. on Monday, October 30.
    He also said that in Rosales town, two candidates for village chief of Barangay Bakit-Bakit — Nelly Espiritu and reelectionist Charlie Pilotin — got 204 votes.
    The tie, which was resolved by draw lots, was won by Pilotin, according to Mila Dalutag, Rosales Comelec’s election officer.
    Salas said that proclaimed candidates could now assume office.
    But he quickly added that proclaimed candidates should first file their respective statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) at the local Comelec office, where they will be issued a certificate of compliance before assuming office.
    Those who lost are also required to file their respective SOCE by November 29. Salas said those who failed to file their SOCE twice will not be allowed to run in the next election.
    There were 57,746 candidates in the province for this year’s BSKE, according to the Comelec provincial office.
Of the number, 3,593 were candidates for village chief, 28,580 for village councilor, 3,878 for SK chairman and 21,706 for SK councilor.
 

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Beneco reaches 50th year/ Marijuana as medicine

  BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – The 50th year anniversary of the Benguet Electric Cooperative was held here Friday at its main headquarters along South Drive without much fanfare. Invited guests Baguio mayor Benjamin Magalong and Rep. Mak Go skipped the event along with Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas. No one from the National Electric Administration also attended.        
    This, considering the dispute which started when the NEA appointed a Palace official as general manager but opposed by member-consumer-owners. The controversy, which reached Congress, with solons slamming the NEA, hasn’t yet died down.
    Assistant GM Melchor Licoben has not yet been endorsed by the NEA to the Beneco Board which only has interim members whose appointments have already lapsed. Licoben is the only remaining contender to the post since one applicant backed out while the other was disqualified.
Beneco sources said elections for board of directors will be held January.
    The status of the electric cooperative is in a state of unease considering these, even as talks of a takeover by a power firm from the south are rife. MCOs are silent on the matter except for snide remarks every now and then on social media.
    Be that as it may, Happy 50th Anniversary to MCOs and employees of Beneco, they who bring us light, day and night with nary a complaint.
    ***
Once enacted into law, the proposed Senate bill legalizing use of medical cannabis or marijuana would benefit Cordillera.

The marijuana trade would prosper and bring livelihood to many folks who would rather plant the still illegal plant considering it is easier to raise as compared to legitimate vegetables like cabbage.

A lot of farmers, particularly from Benguet could switch to the trade. In this case, unless government measures are made, the vegetable industry would take a back seat. Benguet supplies almost 75 percent of vegetable needs of the lowlands like Manila but that is another story. 
    ***
Over the years, the Cordillera had been producing marijuana particularly in hinterlands of the region. The banned plant and its derivatives like hashish had been sold nationwide by drug dealers who knew the ins and outs of evading or conniving reportedly with some corrupt law enforcers.
    We are not saying the anti-drug campaign in the region is ineffective. On the contrary, reports have it that it is doing well considering number of arrests of drug dealers and users and numerous marijuana eradication drives particularly in tri-boundaries of Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province and the provinces of Ilocos Region like La Union and Ilocos Sur.
    ***
A report by the government-run Philippine News Agency said authorities destroyed some P771 million worth of marijuana plants in Cordillera during 200 eradication operations from January to Oct. 16 this year.
    Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Cordillera Administrative Region Director Julius Paderes was quoted as saying 112 operations were conducted in Benguet; 79 in Kalinga; six in Mountain Province and three in Ifugao.
    Most of destroyed marijuana were plants worth P688 million; P2.3 million seedlings; P4.5 million dried marijuana leaves; P70 million marijuana stalks; P2.4 million marijuana bricks and P12,500 seeds.
“Kalinga province recorded the highest amount of destroyed marijuana valued at P624.5 million, although most operations were conducted in Benguet,” Paderes told PNA’s Liza Galao in an interview.
According to Paderes, lawmen made it a point to return to same places now and then because there was always a chance  new plantations could be discovered close to sites earlier raided.
    “The goal is to fully eradicate the cultivation of marijuana by always returning to villages and sitios. The government’s war on drugs is a continuing effort and we will consistently return to the mountains,” he said.
    With PDEA-CAR in anti-drug operations were the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard and National Bureau of Investigation.
    ***
Meanwhile, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) said it was studying proposal of Kalinga Provincial Peace and Order Council to build roads and boost livelihood programs for residents in remote areas to encourage them to stop marijuana cultivation.
    “While the government’s thrust is on rehabilitation programs, we are confident that the DDB will fund the proposal as they did for Kapangan over a decade ago,” Paderes said.
    Kapangan, in Benguet, had been among top producers of high-grade marijuana in Cordillera. But reports said the trade went down since roads were constructed up to marijuana plantations while livelihood programs were implemented for local folks.

All you have to do is throw the seeds on the ground and the plant would grow even without having to cultivate it with expensive chemical fertilizers. The prolific plant could grow anywhere, even on leaves or barks of trees.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

Dangerous vehicles

BAGUIO CITY – Driving or walking along city roads in this so-called one of the safest cities of the world could be dangerous.
    A 27-year-old woman died after being run over by a public utility jeepney at the intersection along Otek St. and Bautista streets around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10.
    According to city police, the victim was crossing the street when accidentally hit by the jeepney.
    The jeep was said to have come from Shuntug St. turning left towards the La Trinidad staging area beside Rizal Park when it accidentally ran over the victim who was crossing the street.
    The victim was rushed to the hospital by the Emergency Medical Service and City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. She sustained traumatic brain injury.
    The driver was arrested and now facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting to homicide according to police. The victim was reportedly an engineer in her late 20s.
    There were additional details to the story like names of the victim and driver but we will leave it at that in the meantime the investigation is not yet finished.
    Suffice to say, I was talking to a lawman who said some drivers have this mistaken belief that for them not to spend much money due to an accident, it is better to make sure the victim is dead so they ram them more.
    **
Not so recently, a 30-year-old Grab delivery rider died after he was ran over by a 10-wheeler truck he was trying to overtake along the ascent to Upper Purok Pidawan, Barangay Loakan Proper, in this city.
    According to investigation, the Grab rider tried to overtake the truck while ascending a blind curve bound for Loakan Proper. However, a vehicle from the opposite direction forced the Grab driver to maneuver back into his lane.
    He allegedly hit the truck’s rear wheel while steering the motorbike to avoid the incoming vehicle.
Police said they released the driver after the parties, and their lawyers agreed to an amicable settlement.
    **
Driving also Bokawkan Road could be dangerous if the brake of the vehicle at your front or back malfunctions. One time, a few years back, more than 10 vehicles collided when a truck lost its brakes making it speed down at breakneck speed like the devil about to take lives.
    But it is not the fault of four-wheel or more vehicle drivers if they are involved in accidents. Some of these motorcycle riders just pop out of nowhere and cut you forcing you to make a sudden stop as they could be suddenly in front of your front bumper.
    Then there are the hotheads or drivers high on drugs. People say some taxi or public utility jeep drivers use shabu so they will not be sleepy even if they just finished 24 hours driving in a mad rush to earn. Some of these PUVs drivers just cut you making you wonder if you are already senile for having slower reflexes.
    There are a lot of horror stories along the road. It is good nobody has been shot dead yet by a trigger-happy driver whose ego was bruised by another driver who sped past him.
    ***
Over in La Trinidad, Benguet just few kilometers from here, it is the same. A foreigner friend of mine who established residence in Baguio says drivers nowadays have become reckless, arrogant or just plain stupid. It could be due to the three years of being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, he says.
    Still in La Trinidad, many accidents have happened along the Baguio-La Trinidad boundary up to Barangay Tomay along the Halsema Highway.
    Just a few days ago, a brand new black Toyota Hilux pickup crashed at the sidewalk railing at km 6 along the side of the Benguet State University. It was good those railings were installed a few months back.
    The driver was reportedly drunk since the crash happened in the wee hours of the morning. Over the years, many pedestrians have been hit, maimed or died while traversing the highway due to reckless drivers.       
    ***
Still on vehicles. The Baguio City Council recently amended Ordinance No. 15, series of 2011 that banned parking of all motor vehicles marked for sale on all roads in the city.
    Under ordinance 81, series of 2023, all motor vehicles marked/tagged ‘For Sale’ or in any phrase/words in circumvention depicting the same meaning to effect sale or swap and any act of disguise to confound detection by authorities shall not be allowed at any time to be parked on all roads, including roadside pay parking spaces, in the city, the public information office announced.  
    The ‘For Sale’ mark or tag should be covered or removed if the motor vehicle will be parked.   
All community police precincts, the Traffic Enforcement Unit and police auxiliaries of the Baguio City Police Office, Traffic and Transportation Management Division under the City Engineering Office and barangay tanods of all barangays in the city having jurisdiction of the road were mandated to strictly implement the ordinance.
    Any individual or vehicle owner found violating the ordinance shall be penalized P1,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second and P5,000 for the third offense.
    Every succeeding offense shall be penalized with maximum amount of P5,000 fine.
    The ordinance tasked the City Treasury Office to print traffic citation tickets indicating as among traffic violations payment of fines for violation of the ordinance.
    The ordinance stipulated that to monitor subsequent offenses, community police precincts, Traffic Enforcement Unit and police auxiliaries of the BCPO,  Traffic and TMD and barangay tanods of all barangays are tasked to coordinate, have logbooks and record all apprehensions to track down first and repeat offenders for proper  penalties.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

Guns, goons and gold

BAGUIO CITY – Vote-buying had been a practice in this Banana Republic over the years. Wayward politicos lived by the three Gs – guns, goons and gold to win, particularly in the lowlands.

Not so much in the uplands like Cordillera, but then, politicos with the three GS, are once again rearing their ugly heads in Abra. A candidate for barangay captain was killed last week while armed men clashed with police.
    The armed men reportedly knocked on houses to persuade residents to vote for their candidates.
    ***
Top provincial officials said no such incident occurred during the past two elections expressing alarm over reports that 122 BSKE candidates in the province were forced to withdraw because of harassment while members of the board of election inspectors refused to participate in the elections.
At least 44 teachers reportedly begged off from serving in the BSKE on Oct. 30, election day.
    ***
A hundred more cops are due to be deployed to the province to maintain peace and order or serve as election supervisors as barangay/Sangguniang Kabataan elections go into high gear until Oct. 30.
Whether more violence will occur in the province the coming few days remain to be seen. According to sources, hardened officials or candidates are still doing illegal things like vote-buying or intimidation to win elections.
    ***
Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Thursday called on voters to ditch vote buying to protect what he called sanctity of the electoral process.
    “That’s why I call on everyone: let’s work together to protect our electoral process against those who commit vote buying and vote selling. Wakasan natin ang kanser ng lipunan na ito (Let's put an end to this cancer in our society)!” Abalos said in a statement, as the campaign period for the BSKE officially kicked off.
    He said voters are reminded they have the power to initiate change in their communities by picking the right candidates.
    “Your votes are very important, especially because the barangays play a big role in implementing government programs and policies),” he added.
    Abalos also said the Philippine National Police (PNP) is ready to deploy more personnel, particularly in areas determined by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as areas of concern, to maintain public safety and security and prevent all forms of election-related violence in communities.
    “The DILG and the PNP are with the Comelec and the Filipino people in monitoring and ensuring the peaceful conduct of the election, from the campaign to the counting. Let us work together to promote the orderly, clean, and peaceful elections of our barangay officials towards the achievement of our goal of a New Philippines,” Abalos said.
    The PNP said Wednesday it would deploy 187,000 police officers across the country as part of heightened alert measures for the polls. 
    ***
Meanwhile, a poll watchdog call on the public to be vigilant over instances of Abuse of State Resources (ASR) during the campaign period.
    In a statement, Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) executive director Ona Caritos urged the people to report the possible abuse on government resources by those who are running in the BSKE.
 She said the public may submit their ASR reports through its website: https://www.lente.org.ph/report#report-form; email: lente.philippines@gmail.com.
They may also report such through the group’s hotline: 0920-266-0944.
    ***
At the same time, the LENTE official warned of a potential surge in ASR by incumbent officials.
"Incumbent officials use state resources for their electoral advantage, thus, affecting the standard of a level playing field in elections," she said.
    Caritos reported that said such actions have been observed even prior to the start of the campaign period.
    Among them, she added, is in one of the cities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), where incumbent barangay officials, who are running in the forthcoming polls, were observed providing temporary shelters to their constituents with plans of converting the same into daycare centers.
    LENTE said several welfare programs, such as Oplan Libreng Tuli, Free X-ray, and HIV testing, were also observed in one of the cities in South Cotabato, wherein local government officials promoted candidates they are supporting for the upcoming polls.
 

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