MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday said that three of its reported incidents of violence amid the filing of certificates of candidacies for the 2023 barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections (BSKE) were not election-related.
To recall, Comelec previously announced that it has so far recorded four cases of alleged election-related violence in the provinces of Albay, Rizal, and Maguindanao.
READ: Comelec: Over 273,000 COCs filed, so far, for barangay, SK polls
However, in a statement on Thursday, citing reports from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Comelec clarified that three of these reports were not election-related.
One of the incidents was in Cainta, Rizal where barangay tanods, along with the suspect, were killed, but Comelec said that after validation by the PNP, the incident was not election-related as it stemmed from a personal altercation due to issues related to Tricycle Operators and Drivers’ Association.
The other recorded incident in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao was also not election-related according to the PNP but was instead due to the ongoing anti-criminality and anti-terrorist operations against local terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, the recorded incident in Midsayap, North Cotabato where a barangay captain was killed was due to a case of feuding families, said Comelec quoting the PNP and AFP.
However, the incident in Libon, Albay, involving a Barangay San Jose re-electionist who was murdered is still being investigated by authorities if it had any relation to the ongoing BSKE.
Despite this, Comelec said it had created task forces for Libon and Misayap and had augmented police forces in the said areas.
Law enforcement hotlines open 24/7 were also established in the provinces.
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