BY GERARD NAVAL
THE Commission on Elections yesterday
suspended elections in five more areas in the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), bringing the total to 18.
Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said these areas
are the municipality of Indanan in Sulu, three barangays in
Akbar, and a barangay in Sumisip, both in Basilan.
Elections were postponed earlier in 13
municipalities of Lanao del Sur.
These municipalities are Bayang, Lumbatan,
Madalum, Binidayan, Puales, Sultan Dumalondong, Lumba-Bayabao,
Masiu, Kapai, Lumbayanague, Butig, Marugong and Kapatagan.
Sarmiento cited threats to members of the
Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) and Election Officers (EOs).
"The BEIs refused to serve due to harassment
and threats from opposing camps and another is that some EOs
refuse to serve or cannot be located," he said.
He said another possible reason for the
refusal of EOs to serve is the historically based "idolatry of
gold" present in the region.
He said special elections in all 18 areas
will be held on Friday next week. Around 100,000 voters are
registered in the areas where special elections will be held.
Sarmiento said Lanao del Sur regional Comelec
Director Rey Sumalipao has already requested additional forces
to augment a battalion of soldiers in the province.
Sarmiento said he will consult the commission
on the creation of Task Force Lanao to investigate the terror
threats and the persistent failure of elections in the province.
He said they will also look into the reasons
Lanao del Sur has become a "perennial problem area" during
elections.
"It will not speak well of us (Comelec) if
another special elections will be held again (in the future),"
he added.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye cried foul over
a foreign observer’s statement that the extent of election
violence in Mindanao is worse than what he had seen in
Afghanistan.
Bunye said the comparison, "particularly from
someone who is still has much to learn about Philippine culture,
heritage and politics," were uncalled for.
"While we welcome foreign observers, we also must recognize
their limited exposure to national and local politics in the
Philippines," he said. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
