By KIMBERLIE QUITASOL
Northern Dispatch

BAGUIO CITY — The provincial office of the Commission on Elections in Abra is anticipating more teachers to back out from serving on the electoral board in the upcoming barangay elections after the October 9 encounter between armed men and police officers in Bucay town.

Lawyer Mae Richelle Belmes, Abra provincial election supervisor, reported that as early as October 7, 13 teachers had already backed out in Bucay town due to harassment and intimidation by unidentified armed men.

“We are still waiting for the final count; the election officer in Bucay is still checking, but we anticipate more teachers to back out after the October 9 incident,” Belmes said in a phone interview.

She said they received reports about armed men roaming around Bucay town, prompting the Philippine National Police (PNP) to patrol the area.

A report from the Abra police provincial office stated that personnel from the Bucay Municipal Police Station and the 2nd Police Mobile Force Company were on mobile patrol when they encountered five armed men at Sitio Nagsangalan in Barangay Layugan at 12:35 a.m. One of the armed men, identified as Romnick Balmaceda, was wounded and was rushed to the Assumpta Family Hospital.

Belmes said Balmaceda passed away at around noon while undergoing treatment.

According to Belmes, they will be deploying police officers as electoral board officials in place of the teachers who backed out. She mentioned that Comelec Abra has 72 PNP personnel at their disposal for electoral boards, and 31 of them have already been deployed in other Abra towns.

“We will be reserving the remaining 41 PNP personnel for Bucay given the new development,” she added.

Belmes said that 14 of the 31 PNP personnel will be deployed in Pilar town following the town’s request. She mentioned that Pilar was placed under Comelec’s control in the last election.

Eight PNP personnel will be deployed in the capital town of Bangued after teachers backed out due to fear. Six PNP personnel will be deployed in Lagangilang town due to intense rivalry, and three will be deployed in Lagayan.

Belmes further said she asked the PNP to reassess the status of Abra’s peace and order situation, especially in Bucay. “We were classified as a yellow zone, but with the Bucay incident and other reported incidents, I already talked to the PNP provincial director to reassess our situation,” she said.

Belmes confirmed that some 122 candidates for barangay captain and barangay council have withdrawn their candidacies. “There are reports that some of these candidates withdrew their candidacies because they were threatened, but no formal complaints were filed in our office,” she said.

Moreover, she also admitted to receiving reports of vote-buying. However, like the withdrawal of candidacies, no one is coming forward to file a complaint.

Belmes also requested the deployment of more police officers in Abra following the Bucay incident.

Amid these problems, Belmes calls on Abrenians to cast their votes in the upcoming barangay elections, assuring them that authorities are doing their best for a peaceful election. # nordis.net