Nolcom, Comelec won’t send more troops to Ecija

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command (Nol-com) chief Maj. Gen. Bonifacio Ramos said yesterday the military and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have dropped plans to deploy 350 soldiers to beef up police forces in Nueva Ecija which is now under Comelec control.

Ramos told The STAR, however, that four cities and three towns in Nueva Ecija would be closely watched should there be a need to augment security forces in these areas.

He identified the cities as Cabanatuan, Gapan, San Jose and Muñoz, and the towns as Gabaldon, Jaen and Carangalan.

"We decided to make do with the military already in the province, depending on the nature of duty (to be assigned to the military)," Ramos said.

Should the need arise, he said the military would take orders only from the Comelec and would merely augment the local police force.

"We cannot participate in anything directly related to the polls, such as transporting ballot boxes," he said.

Earlier, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director Oscar Calderon announced that 350 military personnel would be deployed in Nueva Ecija to augment the local police force. 

Ramos said soldiers who would be called upon to assist the local police would be in full uniform and carry their firearms.

"We will go on with our primary function of ensuring internal security, but we can be called upon to ensure orderly, clean, and credible elections in areas under serious threat," he said.

In an earlier interview, former presidential adviser for North Luzon and Nueva Ecija congressional candidate Renato Diaz challenged his provincemates to dismantle the Joson dynasty which he blamed for the perennial listing of Nueva Ecija as an "area of concern" during elections.

Diaz blamed "a certain type of politics" in Nueva Ecija that "has been rooted in one clan which controls too many positions in the province" for the deteriorating peace and order during elections.

Gov. Tomas Joson III, who is on his third and last term, is now running for mayor of Cabanatuan City, while his brother, Vice Gov. Mariano Cristino Joson IV, is seeking the governorship.

The latter’s wife, Rep. Josefina Joson, is seeking re-election in Nueva Ecija’s fourth district.

"It is not a desirable situation when the leadership comes only from one family," said Diaz, who resigned only recently from his Cabinet level post as presidential adviser for North Luzon to run for congressman.

"This is what we are trying to change, that there be new politics in Nueva Ecija," he said.