Death toll in poll-related violence nationwide hits 114

Violence ushered in yesterday’s national and local elections with at least 27 people reportedly killed since Sunday, taking the total death toll to 114 since the election period started.

Military vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, who heads Task Force HOPE — for honest, orderly and peaceful elections — said 192 other people were wounded in the violent incidents reported nationwide. The election period began on Dec. 15 with the filing of candidacies.

Gun and grenade attacks killed 27 people ahead of the elections, and reports of abductions, a fire and election law violations welcomed the nationwide vote despite heavy security, officials said. Nonetheless, the military and the Philippine National Police (PNP) assessed the conduct of the polls "as relatively peaceful, although deadlier." This year’s election-related violence totaled 125 cases while the 1998 national elections had 267.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao said election day was peaceful despite widespread reports of vote-buying, ballot snatching, intimidation and voter registration problems. Of the dead, 29 were political candidates, he said.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero predicts an escalation of violence.

"These first few hours is just the start of the rise of temperature and the boiling point will commence after the elections, when the votes are counted," he said.

On the eve of elections, two men on a motorcycle hurled a grenade in front of the campaign headquarters of Caloocan City mayoral candidate Enrico Echiverri, killing two followers and wounding another, police said.

Goltiao said authorities were also looking into two reports of abductions of followers of local candidates, including a supporter of a mayoral candidate in Rodriguez town in Rizal.

In Silang, Cavite, a former livelihood officer of re-electionist Gov. Ayong Maliksi was shot dead minutes after casting his vote. Mike Pacres, a former communist rebel, was in his owner-type jeep when a lone gunman shot him in the head at close range at about 1:35 p.m. He died instantly. Local police are not discounting the possibility that communist guerrillas were responsible.

In Mindanao, six people were killed in ambushes late Sunday as violence marred the conduct of the polls in two towns in Zamboanga del Norte. The six campaign workers died in two separate ambuscades when armed followers of political groups staged the attacks in the towns of La Libertad and in Kamutya, local Army commander Brig. Gen. Alexander Yapching said.

A police escort was also killed while another was seriously wounded when several armed men attacked the convoy of mayoral candidate Pedrito Darungay in Tampilisan town, Zamboanga del Norte yesterday. Another mayoral candidate’s supporter was killed by gunmen in Pagadian City Sunday, police said.

Despite these incidents, the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) declared voting was successful in the south, citing the still low case of poll-related violence. Southcom chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko said they have monitored eight cases of election-related violence from the start of election day until its closing.

In these cases, Kyamko said only five were reported killed and 13 wounded. Three of the election-related violence happened in Western Mindanao, four in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). A ballot snatching incident was noted in Region 12.

In Masbate, security forces shot dead seven gunmen working as election enforcers for local candidates and recovered an arsenal of weapons including sub-machineguns, a police statement said. In Cebu, a campaign manager for a gubernatorial candidate was also shot dead before dawn yesterday as he was leaving his house in Daanbatayan, police and local officials said.

Elections in the Philippines are often marred by violence arising from armed followers of local political warlords and from communist insurgents who extort money from candidates.

About 230,000 soldiers and police are on red alert after warnings of attacks by Islamic militants, even though feuds between candidates and clashes with communist rebels caused most of the deaths during the campaign period.

Some 43.5 million voters were eligible to take part in the synchronized polls with the presidential race being hotly contested by incumbent President Arroyo and popular film star Fernando Poe Jr.

Official results are not expected for several weeks because ballots must be counted by hand in elections for some 17,000 national, provincial and local officials. A count by an independent watchdog should however give an accurate prediction within a week. — With reports from Pia Lee-Brago, Reuters, AFP, AP, Roel Pareño, Edith Regalado, John Unson, Ric Sapnu, Pete Laude, Miriam Desacada, Arnell Ozaeta, Ben Serrano, Cet Dematera, Lino dela Cruz, Celso Amo, Roel Pareño, Rene Alviar, Ben Serrano