PNP says Cordi polls ‘generally peaceful’

By KIMBERLIE NGABIT-QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — “I wish there is another term but cliché as it may be there is no other way to describe the recently concluded elections. The 2013 elections in the Cordillera is generally peaceful.”

This was the statement of Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-Cor) Deputy Regional Director for Operations PSSupt Ulysis Abellera during a press conference on the 2013 polls last May 14 at the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO). He reported that still there were election related incidents particularly in Abra and Kalinga.

He boasted that there was a decrease in election related shooting incidents this year compared to the previous years. Police record showed that in 2011 there are 55 shooting incidents from January to April, in the same period in 2012 48 incidents were recorded and this year 25 incidents were recorded region wide.

He also mentioned that in Bangued, Abra recorded shooting incidents were as high as 27 in the first quarter of 2011, 25 in 2012 and down to four in the same period this 2013. He attributed this to the arrest and neutralization of private armed groups and gun for hires in Abra and Kalinga.

Abellera, however, pointed out that the peace keeping efforts does not end with the elections. He disclosed that police authorities will continue to monitor election related incidents even until June given the culture of “singilan”.

He explained that politicians practice singilan where they punish those who failed to deliver the votes agreed upon which results to post election violence.

PROCor Regional Director General Benjamin Magalong attributed the peaceful conduct of the May polls to the joint efforts of various civil society groups, church groups and police. # nordis.net