No violence monitored after death of Maguindanao del Norte poll exec
Maguindanao del Norte. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) did not monitor any violence after an election officer in Maguindanao del Norte was killed in an ambush, according to Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Tuesday.
Garcia said this might be attributed to the increased presence of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte.
“In the meantime, in all fairness naman and sana nga wala na after noong pagkamatay noong aming election officer ay wala nang sumunod, wala na tayong namonitor,” Garcia said in an interview.
(In the meantime, in all fairness, and we hope that there will be no violence after the death of our election officer, we have not monitored any.)
Garcia also said that the additional personnel from the Special Action Force were deployed in the area.
READ: Election exec, husband slain in ambush in Maguindanao del Norte
“Di sana magandang tignan na napakadaming tauhan ng military, PNP sa isang area pero we have no choice. The Comelec must show to everybody that we are in control of the situation,” Garcia added.
(It is not good to see that there are many personnel from the military and PNP in an area but we have no choice. The Comelec must show to everybody that we are in control of the situation.)
Atty. Maceda Abo, election officer of Datu Odin Sinsuat, and husband Jojo Abo were shot on their way to the municipal election office in Barangay Dalican. Her husband was pronounced dead on arrival while Abo later died while receiving medical care.
The incident led Garcia to recommend to the Comelec en banc to declare the town under Comelec control. He explained that under Comelec control, the poll body would have full and absolute control of an area.
Garcia said the individuals responsible for the ambush were not ordinary people in the area. While no other details were divulged, he also said they had motives for the upcoming May 2025 elections.
“Therefore, kailangang cautious din dahil tensyonado sa lugar at maging dahan dahan ang Comelec at law enforcement authorities,” he noted.
(Therefore, the Comelec and law enforcement authorities need to be cautious because the area is full of tension.)
READ: PNP provides armed escorts to BARMM election officers
The Philippine National Police recently said that it approved the request of election officers in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to provide them with security details amid the rising cases of violence in the region.
