Philippine elections marred by violence
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The Philippine presidential and local elections on Monday were haunted by a string of violent incidents, mostly in the country's southern part, killing a dozen of people and injuring 16 others.
Philippine Commissioner of the Election Commission (Comelec) Gregorio Larrazabal said on the voting day at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, "We are both nervous and excited. Nervous because you really don't know what to expect, excited because a lot of Filipinos are looking forward to this day."
Larrazabal has every reason to worry about the smooth progress of the election. An avalanche of reports of violence flew to police stations in various parts of the country in the past 30 hours.
Hours before the polling stations opened at 7 a.m., three voters were killed while nine others were wounded when a group of armed men rained with bullets the house of a mayoralty candidate in Zamboanga Sibugay in southern Philippines.
A report from the Western Mindanao Command disclosed that a group of armed men arrived at the house of Rogelio Gomez, who is running for mayor under the Lakas Kampi CMD party, at dawn. Three followers of Gomez were killed on the spot while nine others were wounded and were taken to a nearby emergency hospital.
Police and military swooped down the crime site but the perpetrators quickly left the place.
In another incident, a supporter of Cotabato 2nd District Congressman Bernardo Pinol was shot dead in front of a candidate' house in Kidapaw. Another Pinol supporter was wounded and later brought to Kidapawan Doctors Hospital.
A leftist rebel allegedly endorsing candidates in Albay in northern Luzon region died in a clash with Army soldiers around 4: 30 a.m. Monday.
Four voters were injured after an improvised explosive went off at a polling precinct in northern Philippines on Monday. The incident occurred around 6:30 a.m. inside a comfort room of the San Nicolas Academy in La Union, in northern part of the country, the provincial Senior Supt. Noli Talino said.
Around 11:36 a.m. Monday, an improvised bomb exploded near the town hall of Datu Unsay in southern Maguindanao with no casualties or injuries.
Herbert Yambing, chief of the military and police Joint Security Coordinating Center, said the attacks were seemingly initiated to scare away voters for Monday's polling as they were done at secluded sections of the towns.
Around 11:50 a.m. Monday, two persons died when supporters of rival candidates clashed in Kapimpilan village in North Kabuntalan in Maguindanao. The voting was temporary stopped as the voters panicked, the military said.
In Sumisip town, in southern province of Basilan, a Marine soldier was wounded when he was fired upon by unidentified suspects around 7:30 a.m. Monday. The wounded soldier was part of a group of troops conducting security patrol in the area.
On May 9, or the eve of the national voting day, a Muslim cleric was killed and nine others were seriously wounded when a grenade exploded inside the mosque at Sitio Tinibtiban, in Pikit town of North Cotabato, around 7:15 p.m. Sunday.
The victim, identified as Manuel Pautin, an Imam (Muslim cleric) who used to deliver sermon and preaching at the mosque, died on the spot because of severe injuries in different parts of his body.
Also on Sunday, three supporters of a mayor seeking for reelection in this year's election were killed in an ambush by supporters of a rival candidate at around 10 p.m. in Isabela province.
Jimmy Rivera, director of the Isabela Police, said, "There was no electricity in that coastal area. As they were walking on their way home, they were ambushed and it resulted in the instantaneous death of three people."
In the Philippines, elections have always been haunted by violence. According to police statistics, 229 election-related violence incidents occurred in the congressional mid-term election season in 2007, killing 121 people and injuring 176. In the 2004 General Elections, 249 election-related violence incidents occurred, claiming 148 deaths and injuring 261 people.
Before the 2010 General Elections, election-related violence were still rampant, with the Maguindanao massacre, the worst ever in the Philippines, in which 57 people including 32 media workers and pregnant women were slain, shocking the whole world.
Many Filipinos pin hopes on the new president for a fair, transparent and violence-free election in future.
