EDITORIAL - Continuing violence

Since the start of the election period, the government has touted a campaign to dismantle private armies, seize loose firearms and restrict the use of guns. The escalating violence in Abra province shows that greater effort is needed in the campaign.
Between Feb. 28 and March 26 alone, eight people have been murdered in Abra. The latest victims were high school teacher Odilon Peria and dentist Francisco Beria Jr., who were shot dead on the night of March 26 in a coffee shop in Bangued, the capital town.
The two, who were seated at different tables, were murdered a day after the driver of a mayoral candidate in the province was shot dead also in Bangued. Juanito Gammong was about to enter a house where he was staying temporarily at 7 p.m. on Tuesday when a man followed him and shot him three times.
On Wednesday morning, Bañacao barangay captain Dennis Billedo survived an ambush also in Bangued. Police said Billedo was in his car on his way home with four companions when gunmen opened fire on them.
Probers have yet to establish the motive for the murders of Peria and Beria, but most of the recent killings in Abra have been linked to politics. Groups have attributed armed violence in the province to politicians who maintain private armies.
Due to the violence, the Commission on Elections has placed three towns in Abra under the “orange” category – meaning areas facing serious armed threat. Six other towns are under the “yellow” category, or areas with a history of election violence.
The color-coded classification should come with an intensified presence of security forces. Greater effort is also needed to capture killers – both the triggermen and the masterminds. If probers believe the armed violence is linked to politics, they must have an idea of who the perpetrators might be.
Armed violence is the worst way of undermining a free vote. As in any crime, failure to capture and punish murderers breeds impunity. Ending or at least minimizing armed violence in Abra should not prove to be an impossible mission.
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