30% of barangays influenced by Left

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Thirty percent of the country’s more than 45,000 barangays are influenced by the Left, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Ralph Lantion said yesterday.

Lantion said most of these Left-influenced communities are in the Bicol region, and the rest in the Cordilleras, Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley and elsewhere in the country.

Lantion, who is in-charge of Northern and Central Luzon, gave the assessment during a pre-election assembly here for the July 15 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

He said the information was furnished the Comelec by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) as part of the preparations for the grassroots elections.

Lantion, however, clarified that the "Left" refers to groups espousing socialist ideologies regardless of whether they adhere to the armed struggle of the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front or not.

"This means we have lumped together supporters of the rebels and those of more moderate views," he said, referring to members of the "legal Left" such as Akbayan, Bayan Muna and Sanlakas.

Lantion said the Left, legal or otherwise, has been encouraged to strengthen their hold, especially in the grassroots, to preserve their initial success in entering the political mainstream.

Lantion said the poll body is not totally helpless in prosecuting candidates who receive financial support or abet the rebels’ armed struggle.

"If there are witnesses and grounds to warrant their disqualification or prosecution, why not," he said.

Lantion, however, admitted that such cases are difficult to sustain in court without actual evidence of violations. "Such is the case even with candidates for other local and national elective posts," he said.

Earlier, Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Alvarado, commanding general of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division, said NPA rebels are supporting some candidates for barangay positions as part of the insurgents’ bid to preserve their influence on communities.

Lantion, meanwhile, assured teachers deputized in the barangay and SK polls that their honoraria are now being processed for submission to the Department of Education’s central office which, in turn, will distribute the money to them.

"I hope the honoraria will reach them a week before the actual elections," he said.

Comelec-deputized teachers, Lantion said, will each receive P800 to P900 as honorarium. The poll body has allotted P1.9 billion for the July 15 elections.