‘Stop poll violence or face sanctions’

As the body count neared 100, Malacañang warned yesterday that police and military commanders who fail to stop election-related violence in their respective areas will be sanctioned.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Arroyo also ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to "spread out their people and conduct joint patrols."

"Those (military and police commanders) who will be able to do their jobs well will of course be recognized, but actions and sanctions will be imposed on those whose areas have incidents of violence despite their presence," Ermita said.

He also said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is reportedly going to make its own assessment of PNP and AFP units’ performance during the election period in addressing poll violence.

He said PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon has also reshuffled several provincial officers, including those assigned in Batangas, Laguna and Rizal, in tension-filled areas to ensure impartiality of the police units.

PNP and AFP personnel manning checkpoints have likewise been instructed to stop convoys of politicians to check whether their security detail, if any, exceeds the authorized number and whether their firearms are authorized.

Ermita said based on the PNP’s tally, there were 1,782 election-related violent incidents since January with 2,015 firearms confiscated and 2,149 suspects arrested.

"You can expect more deployments in so-called hot spots," he said.

Meanwhile, the Palace is also awaiting the recommendation of Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane on a proposal from the Comelec to have an election ceasefire, he said.

"If the ceasefire will be good for the elections, why not? But I don’t want to second guess the decision of the President whether to declare a suspension of offensive military operations or not," he said. – Paolo Romero