EDITORIAL - On holiday break

Martial law has been lifted in Maguindanao but the state of emergency remains, and the province is supposed to be teeming with heavily armed military and police personnel. Yet someone apparently forgot to secure the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak. The so-called Provincial Mansion was looted during the holidays, when all the security personnel must have been either celebrating or sleeping in the panciteria.

Among the offices housed in the capitol is that of the Commission on Elections. Comelec officials assured the public that no important documents or paraphernalia were stolen. But the Comelec officials said almost everything else that could be carted away was lost, including bond paper, kitchen utensils and paper clips.

What happened to the serious threat that requires placing the province under a state of emergency? Did the threat go on Christmas break in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao? The military and police personnel assigned to secure the capitol seemed to think so. The looting gave Malacañang an excuse to announce yesterday that the state of emergency would have to continue in the province. If similar incidents occur, the state of emergency could last all the way to Election Day, when the military, now back to an active role in the elections, can show the nation that it is in control.

Someone’s head should roll for the looting, but security officials can’t seem to do any wrong in the ARMM, as far as Malacañang is concerned. The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense have yet to explain how weapons and ammunition bearing DND and AFP markings ended up in the private arsenal of the Ampatuans, who are accused of responsibility for the massacre.

The military commander for Maguindanao at the time, Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton, was relieved of his command in the 6th Infantry Division amid complaints from the victims’ camp that he had ignored their requests for security on their way to the capitol. Cayton was cleared of those accusations and was recently promoted to the second highest post in the Philippine Army. A promotion is also likely to be in store for the officer in charge of securing the capitol during the holidays.