Mt. Province Folk Protest Electoral Fraud

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat.com

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Some 500 residents marched to the streets of Bontoc with placards denouncing poll violations during the campaign period and on election day.

Mostly comprised of supporters of the three losing congressional candidates, members of the Katribu partylist and Makabayan Coalition, the protesters trooped to the Bontoc municipal hall.

Dimaz Daweg of the Makabayan cited the black propaganda allegedly spearheaded by members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the progressive party-list groups.

Daweg said the AFP sponsored fora, film showings and power-point presentations and community meetings wherein AFP speakers maligned progressive party-list groups like Katribu, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anakpawis, ACT Teachers and Akap Bata.

Daweg said AFP personnel branded the said party-list groups as close allies of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP).

He said there was massive distribution of flyers and posters against progressives. Daweg also noted the presence and the encampment of military in areas where there are Katribu members. He also cited reports of military abuses and terrorism.

Daweg also cited the systematic campaign of the AFP against the Makabayan senatorial bets and Nacionalista Party guest candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza.

Cordillera-Mountain Province Secretary General Loreta Batay-an Yocogan condemned the use of government funds against progressive party-list groups and candidates and for the advancement of political interests of traditional politicians and for massive vote-buying.

“The use of guns and the emerging warlordism should be stopped immediately so that these politicians will not be like the Ampatuans in the province,” said Yocogan in Iloco.

The protesters also condemned the immediate release of men associated to Governor and Congressman-elect Maximo Dalog who were arrested earlier for violation of the total gun ban during the election period.

The group also complained of irregularities in the conduct of the automated election system. They said long lines of voters had to wait for over three hours to vote. In Barangay Kin-iway in the municipality of Besao, voters had to wait for seven hours to vote. They also said there were Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines that malfunctioned like in Bangaan, Sagada.

In Paracelis, the group said, there were PCOS machines that were hammered and burned by some men. Machines in several barangays in all municipalities of the province failed to transmit the election results.

Thomas “Champag” Killip, a congressional candidate, said the covenant supposedly for a peaceful, clean and honest elections which he and fellow candidates signed on March 10 in the presence of officers form the AFP, Philippine National Police (PNP), Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials and church people was simply for show.

Killip said the governor has much to explain for the alleged use of government funds in the guise of programs to gain political advantage, the massive vote-buying and the introduction of the use of guns into the political arena in the province.

Killip said Dalog and his supporters should not abuse their position and powers because the governor is still a minority by choice and therefore cannot fully claim to represent the true sentiments of the people of Mt. Province.

Along with Killip who went with the protesters are fellow Congressional candidates Franklin Oddsey and Jupiter Dominguez who registered the same complaints.

Killip claimed that only one-third of the 65,000 voters who cast their votes voted for Dalog. “You can say part of this votes were acquired through illegitimate means. What kind of representation then do we have?” asked Killip.(Northern Dispatch/Posted by Bulatlat.com)