Roxas aghast at cases of poll-related violence

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas (left) INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Even the man in charge of overseeing the operations of barangay (village) councils is appalled by the senseless killings that marked Monday’s balloting in more than 42,000 villages nationwide.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas could not hide his disappointment about the reported cases of election-related violence when he presided over a news briefing at Camp Crame on Tuesday about the police operations in connection with the village elections.

Nine persons were killed and another was wounded in separate shooting incidents on election day, said Deputy Director General Felipe Rojas Jr., commander of National Task Force SAFE (Secure and Fair Elections).

Roxas was particularly dismayed over a case in his home province of Capiz, where an outgoing barangay chairman shot dead three of his siblings early Tuesday after his brother beat the village official’s daughter for the seat he would soon vacate.

“It’s disheartening and saddening. It makes me wonder what this barangay official was thinking,” the interior secretary said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“Why did they think their lives depend on their position? Ang masasabi ko lang sa kanila ay yung parati kong sinasabi sa sarili ko — na yung titulo iba sa pagkatao mo (All I can say to them is what I have always told myself — that the title is separate from one’s character),” he said.

Roxas, a former senator, said individuals who would like to join politics must learn how to differentiate their title from their personality.

“Your title is your job. Your personality is what defines you as a person. In short, the personality of a Mar Roxas is not the 8, 7, 6 or whatever number is assigned to your vehicle’s license plates,” he said, referring to the special plates that senior government officials use.

The interior secretary said he has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to hunt down Manuel Arcenas, the incumbent chairman of Barangay Manapao in Pontevedra town, Capiz province, who allegedly shot dead his brother Ramon and their sisters Evelyn Espinar and Jennifer Nuyles.

Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., Western Visayas police director, said Arcenas was furious at his siblings after his daughter Isabel was defeated by Ramon in the fight for the position of village chairman.

He said the suspect’s son, Marlon, also lost in his bid for one of the seven seats in the village council.

Armed with a 30-cal. carbine rifle, Cruz said Arcenas confronted his siblings at around 5 a.m. shortly after Ramon was proclaimed winner and shot them repeatedly.

The victims were rushed to Bailan District Hospital where they were declared dead on arrival.

“The sisters both supported the candidacy of Ramon Arcenas. That apparently irked the suspect,” Cruz said in a phone interview.

Since the election period started on Sept. 28, PNP records showed at least 30 individuals had been killed and 41 others had been wounded in 46 politically motivated attacks.

The figure already surpassed the 25 cases of election-related violence recorded during the 2010 barangay elections that left 15 people dead.

Rojas said 39 of these were shootings, which happened despite the gun ban being imposed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

He expressed confidence that the number of election-related violence and casualties would still decrease as the police were validating if the reported gun attacks were really linked with the barangay elections.

“The conduct of the 2013 barangay elections is generally peaceful,” Rojas said.