Security for Mindanao bets must come from same Army unit – Lacson
MANILA, Philippines — Candidates in hotly-contested areas in Mindanao must be given security coming from the same Philippine Army (PA) unit to prevent election-related violence, former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said on Thursday.
In a statement, Lacson — a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief — said that having the same personnel from any Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) unit would prevent armed confrontations.
The former senator said this after Vice Mayor Mohammad Omar Samama of Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, who is seeking reelection, was shot while he was speaking during a medical mission in Barangay Magaslong last Monday.
“Beyond the usual reactive investigation of election-related violence in Maguindanao, government may consider replacing all the security escorts of the opposing candidates with AFP personnel belonging to the same army battalion or division in the region,” Lacson said in a tweet on X.
Article continues after this advertisement“Having Army personnel belonging to the same unit and under the same field commanders replacing PNP and private armed groups securing both camps will prevent armed confrontations,” he added.
Article continues after this advertisementSamama, son of Datu Piang Mayor Victor Samama, was brought to an undisclosed hospital in Maguindanao del Sur.
Police are looking at politics as the possible motive, as the elections are just three months away.
Both Samamas are running under the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
But aside from this attempt on Samama’s life, two more shooting incidents were recorded in Mindanao – in Cotabato City on Tuesday and in Lanao del Sur on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, Abdulazis Aloyodan, 60, former mayor of Lumbaca-Unayan in Lanao del Sur, was killed by unidentified gunmen who emerged from a pickup truck.
Aloyodan’s relatives, particularly Lumbaca-Unayan Mayor Jamalia Aloyodan, said the former mayor had no known enemies and had already retired from politics.
Meanwhile, an engineering faculty member of Notre Dame University (NDU) was killed in Barangay Rosary Heights 3 in Cotabato City.
Footage from a closed circuit television camera showed that a gunman, aboard a motorcycle from the opposite lane, shot Angas several times along the busy Notre Dame Avenue.
But Lacson said that he has actually received information that at least six more candidates for municipal council posts, along with their supporters, were killed in politically-motivated incidents in Maguindanao.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has already acknowledged that there is an increasing trend of — two areas under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
