In Samar, bid for Comelec control by pol clan is rejected

TACLOBAN CITY—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has rejected the request of Samar Gov. Sharee Ann Tan to place the entire province under the poll body’s control during the May 9 elections following a series of shootings that Tan said targeted her supporters.

Dennis Ausan, Comelec director for Eastern Visayas, said while he has yet to receive an official order from the poll body, the appeal of the governor was denied because the shootings occurred only in some parts of the province, particularly Calbayog City, and not the entire Samar.

He said the deployment of more policemen to the province was one measure that could address the governor’s concern.

Tan, who is seeking reelection under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), petitioned the Comelec on April 26 to place the entire Samar province under its control due to what Tan said was a deteriorating peace and order situation.

The governor also sought the replacement of several high-ranking police officials, including the chief of police of Eastern Visayas, Chief Supt. Jose Erwin Villacorte, after Villacorte refused to link cases of shootings to the elections.

Villacorte earlier said the shootings were due to either land dispute or personal grudge and not related to politics.

The governor claimed that the victims were her NPC supporters.

Tan said in her petition that if her request were not acted upon, the number of election-related cases of violence would go up.

Once under Comelec control, a province or town will be completely governed by the poll body.

Under Comelec resolution No. 10074, the poll body can place under its control any area that is wracked by intense political rivalry, violence from private armed groups and where loose firearms are proliferating.

Tan’s petition cited several instances where her supporters were either harassed or killed.

The latest was on April 13 when Lopez Pedreza was shot dead while on board a motorcycle in Barangay Rawis, Calbayog City.

He was headed home to Barangay Carayman when he was waylaid by still unidentified men.

Aside from Villacorte, Tan is also asking for the replacement of other police officials in Eastern Visayas, including Chief Insp. Elmer Vergara, Calbayog police chief.

The governor said that despite her letters and appeals to police, the shootings continued.

She said she received a report that some policemen were involved in some of the cases.

Tan is seeking a third term as governor of Samar, which has more than 490,000 registered voters.

Her opponent, Emil Soza, is a neophyte politician and a retired colonel. He is running under the ruling Liberal Party.

Tan’s mother, Rep. Milagrosa Tan, and younger brother, Vice Gov. Stephen James Tan, are also seeking reelection.

Another sister, Angeli Tan, is running for mayor of Calbayog where most of the shootings took place.

Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento served as Calbayog mayor and congressman of Samar’s first district.

His brother Edgar is running for congressman.

Villacorte, speaking through Chief Insp. Mark Nalda, police regional information officer, denied that the police were being partisan in Samar.

He said not all of the cases of shootings “could be considered election-related.”

“There is a board in charge, which validates if the case is election-related. But we are doing our best to solve these shootings,” Nalda said.

The board, which is headed by Senior Supt. Allan Cuevillas, is validating only three cases in Samar.

Nalda said the governor had the right to seek the transfer of police officials, including Villacorte.

“It is now the duty of the Comelec en banc to assess whether (the request) has basis. We police officers just come and go,” he said.

‘There is a board in charge which validates if the case is election-related. But we are doing our best to solve these shootings . . .’