Eleazar tours Leyte, gets support from local execs

MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial candidate and former national police chief Guillermo Eleazar toured Leyte province on Friday and faced tough questions from the local media on some of the most pressing issues facing the country.

The first stop in Eleazar’s campaign visit was Tacloban City, which bore the brunt of Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. He paid a courtesy call on Mayor Alfred Romualdez and bared his plans to improve the disaster communications system not only in Tacloban but nationwide, especially in disaster-prone areas.

He also held a motorcade in Palo, Leyte and visited gubernatorial candidate and former energy chief Jericho Petilla and his wife, Mayor Ann Petilla.

After this, Eleazar went to the provincial capitol to meet incumbent Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla. He then went to Ormoc City and paid a courtesy call on Mayor Richard Gomez before holding a motorcade in Baybay City.

“Thanks to everyone in Leyte for your warm welcome. I was able to talk to the local media here and I am grateful for the chance to present my programs as senator,” he said.

At a briefing in Ormoc City, Eleazar bared his stand on key issues such as the anti-terrorism law, drug war, death penalty and communist insurgency.

The Partido Reporma candidate said he supports the anti-terrorism law which is needed to curb the threat of local and foreign terrorists, particularly in the southern part of the country.

“The anti-terrorism law was thoroughly studied, and our skillful lawmakers were able to make it pass through the eye of the needle. It was basically a result of consultations and serious examination of similar laws in other countries, that’s why it was able to breeze through the Senate and Congress despite discussions and petitions from different groups. It even hurdled the Supreme Court,” he said.

“Meaning to say, its importance has been made clear. It’s my belief, coming from the security sector for the past 38 years, that it will work to the benefit of our countrymen. All the security measures and safeguards are there to prevent abuses by authorities. And abusers will get heavy sanction,” he pointed out.

The former police chief also said he believes there is much to be done to improve the anti-illegal drugs campaign of the government.

“I believe that whoever wins the election, there will be great challenge to make the campaign against illegal drugs more effective,” he said. “It should be a holistic approach, with focus also on rehabilitation of drug dependents.”

Eleazar also revealed that he is not in favor of the reimposition of the death penalty, saying the justice system in the Philippines would be a hindrance to its flawless implementation.

“I’m not in favor of the death penalty unless we have an ideal or almost perfect situation, or if we are sure our justice system is working to a point where rich and poor, the powerful and helpless, are treated equally,” he pointed out.

“We only live once. In a situation that is not perfect, the innocent can get executed and the guilty can go unpunished through influence or imperfect system,” he explained.

Instead he proposed that convicted criminals involved in heinous crimes be placed in a prison similar to Alcatraz.

Eleazar expressed support for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and said this should be utilized by the next government to end the insurgency problem without having to resort to red-tagging.