Political tensions got physical and potentially explosive in two cities with a few days to go before the May 13 elections.
A campaign sortie was marred by violence in Taguig City, while the police found a grenade, Molotov bombs and a tear gas canister outside the local Liberal Party headquarters in Antipolo City.
The Kilusang Diwa ng Taguig, the group of mayoral candidate Rica Tiñga, said 12 of its supporters were injured in an assault by City Hall personnel under the Public Order and Safety Office (Poso) Saturday morning in Barangay Tuktukan.
The injured included Ervic Vijandre, an actor-model running for the council, who sustained a head wound, the group said in a statement. Tiñga was in the KDT group when the fight broke out.
But Poso officials countered that it was Tiñga’s people who provoked it when they insisted on entering the City Hall compound and threw a rock at a Poso member.
No entry for Tiñga group
The KDT said its supporters were passing through P. Cruz Street behind City Hall to do a house-to-house campaign in the area, when at least 30 Poso members “lashed out” at them and started beating up those who were taking photos.
Minutes earlier, Tiñga was able to enter the compound through the main gate to shake hands with employees, despite being told by Poso head Kim Pautin that she and her group were not allowed in the area.
The KDT members then tried to enter through the side gate, according to Taguig chief of police Senior Supt. Arturo Asis, quoting Poso’s complaint.
“Poso alleged that as they were trying to secure the gate, the KDT (people) seemed to be instigating a fight by pushing them. One supporter threw a rock and injured a Poso member, which triggered the scuffle. It lasted for around 10 to 15 minutes,” Asis said.
The KDT said Vijandre sustained a deep cut on his head that required four stitches, while its photographer Jerry Goc-Ong suffered injuries after being hit with truncheons and another supporter, Crispina Hernandez, broke her nose.
“We were peacefully conducting our campaign. We peacefully entered the compound to shake hands with the employees there. They should not be harming people or threatening them,” Tiñga said. “Never in the history of Taguig has anyone been harmed like this just because of campaigns.”
“(Reelectionist) Mayor Lani Cayetano cannot deny knowing the people who hurt our supporters. They clearly came from inside City Hall,” she added.
The Cayetano camp, through the Taguig chapter of the Nacionalista Party, dismissed KDT’s allegation as a sign of “desperation.”
Lyle Niño Pasco, lawyer for NP-Taguig, said “they want to create a scenario which falsely depicts Taguig as an election hot spot that should be placed under Comelec [Commission on Elections] control, so they can cheat.”
Unprecedented in Antipolo
In Antipolo City, Supt. Manuel Placido, the local police chief, said a fragmentation grenade, three Molotov bombs and a “used” tear gas canister were found in different locations just outside the local LP headquarters on C. Lawis Extension, Barangay San Luis, before dawn Friday.
Minutes before the discovery, the office caretaker, Felix Bulic, was roused from sleep by a stinging pain in his eyes, apparently due to tear gas, Placido said.
Rizal provincial police director Senior Supt. Rolando Anduyan said investigators were still looking for other witnesses to establish how the explosives ended up—if indeed they were lobbed—in the RMC Pavilion compound where the headquarters is located.
The place is used by reelectionist Mayor Nilo Leyble and his supporters, but only Bulic was inside when he found the explosives, he said.
Leyble is being challenged for the mayoralty by incumbent Rizal Gov. Casimiro “JunJun” Ynares III.
In a statement, Leyble said “this kind of violence and harassment has never happened in our city (before). We will do what we can to hold those who did this accountable. Evil should not win in Antipolo.”
“It is sad that these things are happening in Antipolo now. Is it necessary to throw grenades, use violence and scare tactics only because they want to be leaders of this city? Let us think hard if this is the leadership we want for Antipolo,” he added.
In a statement responding to his rival, Ynares said he, too, was also “saddened” by what happened and that “like you, I want to know what really happened here so that those who did this will be held accountable.”