Authorities urged: Tag Dumanjug as hotspot

CEBU, Philippines - Two Board Members are calling on the Commission on Elections and the Philippine National Police to include Dumanjug town in the election watch-list anew following the strafing incident last Friday.

Board Member Christopher Baricuatro who represents the Second District where Dumanjug belongs told The FREEMAN he will formalize his request through a resolution he will sponsor with Board Member Peter John Calderon, also from the Second District.

“Sa pagkakaron, ang among tan-aw is politika gyod though di pa na nato makita ang whole picture. Hinaot di na ni mausab,” Baricuatro said, adding, that if the theory would be proven true, the incident can be considered as a threat to candidates of the Liberal Party.

Dumanjug was identified as an area of concern in the 2013 elections.

The incident last Friday happened near the covered court where a consultative meeting organized by the slate of Dumanjug Vice Mayor Efren Guntrano Gica was held. 

Gica will be challenging incumbent Mayor Nelson Gamaliel Garcia.

Gica said earlier he was only about 20 meters away from the venue when he heard gun shots followed by a loud blast.

No one was hurt from the incident but the vehicle of municipal councilor Rene Asentista, Gica’s running mate, was riddled with bullets. Both are with the Liberal Party.

The attack was allegedly executed by at least 10 armed men.

Police found six empty shells from an M16 rifle, two empty shells from a .45 cal. pistol, an empty shell of a 40mm M203 grenade launcher and an unexploded grenade from the crime scene.

“Mas maayo gyod nga i-declare na pod ang Dumanjug as hotspot,” Calderon said in a separate interview.

Last Saturday, police arrested three persons suspected to be among the armed men seen by witnesses in the area where the attack happened. The suspects were identified as James Aniñon, 18, Joselito Quirante, 35, and Samuel Villagonzalo, 31.

Villagonzalo and Quirante were arrested inside the house of another suspect Nilo Quirante who was still at-large as of this writing.

The police also recovered 14 small packs of suspected shabu, a replica M4 assault rifle, an M203 grenade launcher, a hand grenade, two wigs, a scythe, a weighing scale and drug paraphernalia at Nilo’s house.

Gica said Nilo served as a consultant of Garcia, but the Mayor earlier denied existing connection with the suspect.

Assessment

The Provincial Joint Security Control Center (PJSCC) is set to meet within the week to discuss whether or not Dumanjug should be declared an “area of concern”.

 The PJSCC is composed of the Provincial Comelec officer, Cebu Provincial Police Office director Noel Gillamac and representative of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

 Comelec-Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Marco Lionel Castillano said they will discuss the issue to prevent the reoccurrence of the crime and start putting in place security measures.

 Castillano clarified though that declaring an area as hot spot solely depends on the determination of the police or investigating body.

 He said he is still awaiting the incident report from Gillamac.

 The report will be the basis for PJSCC to recommend to the Regional Joint Security Control Center (RJSCC) to classify Dumanjug as an area of concern.

RJSCC is composed of the Comelec Regional Officer, Regional Police director, and AFP representative.

 He said areas can only be declared as hotspots or areas of concern when there is intense political rivalry, the presence of either the communist rebels or private armed groups, and history of electoral violence.

 Once an area is declared as hotspot, the presence of military and police will then be intensified.

 “Police and military presence in the hot spot areas will be doubled and further reinforced depending on their (police) assessment,” Castillano said.

 He said areas of concerns are usually identified a month or three weeks before the elections.

In 2013, the Philippine National Police has identified 173 cities and towns in the Visayas as “election watchlist areas.” These include 81 in Central Visayas, 52 in Eastern Visayas and 40 in Western Visayas. (FREEMAN)