THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) says the shooting incident in Tuburan town is isolated and may not be enough as basis to place the 3rd district town under its control.
Provincial elections officer Ferdinand Gujilde said they are still making an assessment of the shooting was election related or nor.
The Comelec can only place an area under its control if there is verified presence of armed threat and violence.
“Dili pa ta sigurado if this is election related. If this is election related, this is an isolated case kay last resort na gyud na ang pagpabutang sa usa ka lugar sa Comelec control,” he told reporters.
(We are still unsure if this is election related. If this is election related… it is last resort to have an area under Comelec control.)
Gujilde added that it is ‘ngil-ad’ (ugly) to place Tuburan under Comelec control.
“If the situation is out of control, that’s when you need Comelec control. If gubot ang lugar, dili maayo sa turismo, dili maayo sa Sugbo,” he said.
(If there is trouble in a place, it is not good for tourism, it is not good for Cebu.)
Gujilde also said that local government operations of a town would be hampered if it is put under Comelec control since all transactions would have to be approved by them. Tuburan mayoralty bet Dr. Rose Suezo requested the Comelec to put the town under its control after she said that one of her supporter was shot at.
Meanwhile, Gujilde said that some towns and cities in the province are still under Comelec’s area of concern.
In the recent Regional Joint Security and Coordinating Center (RJSCC) meeting, Gujilde said that there will be no upgrading and downgrading of the statuses of the towns and cities in the province. /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent