Manila Bulletin
Pangilinan asks Comelec to move swiftly in clamping down on election-related violence
Pangilinan asks Comelec to move swiftly in clamping down on election-related violence
Pangilinan asks Comelec to move swiftly in clamping down on election-related violence
Published Dec 23, 2018 03:01 pm
By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to clamp down on election-related violence as early as it can to prevent violence from spilling over in the May 2019 elections.
Sen. Kiko Pangilinan (via kikopangilinan.com | Manila Bulletin)
Pangilinan made the call following the assassination of Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Rodel Batocabe who was gunned down by still unidentified assailants in a covered court in Daraga, Albay while he was participating in a gift-giving program for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) last Saturday.
Batocabe is the latest political personality to be violently murdered as the country gears up for the upcoming May 2019 elections.
“We urge the Comelec to clamp down on election-related violence early on lest the situation spiral out of control into a blood drenched May 2019 national and local elections,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
Likewise, the opposition senator condemned the daily killings, which was touted by the Duterte administration as the solution to the country’s ills.
“For every kill, reward money was given by the government. Impunity and police abuse became the order of business. Pretty soon, the killings and in all likelihood the offer of reward money quickly went beyond the drug war to include priests, lawyers, local politicians, journalists, and even businessmen,” Pangilinan lamented.
“For the right price any killing can be arranged, so it seems. As the days go by more and more are beginning to realize that the daily killings is not the solution but is in fact part of the problem,” he pointed out.
“The solution I am afraid lies not so much in the hands of this Administration (that sees nothing wrong with public statements that incite or encourage more killings) but in the hands, in the acts, and the spoken words of more and more ordinary citizens from all walks of life saying we will not sit still and we will speak up against these killings,” he said.
Pangilinan, a member of the opposition, joined other lawmakers who also condoled with Batocabe’s family.
“Rest in peace, Representative Rodel. He was my contemporary at the UP College of Law in the late ‘80s. We may not have been on the same side of the political fence but his violent death in what appears to have been perpetrated by hired assassins should be roundly condemned,” said Pangilinan.
“Rest in peace Rep. Rodel. While we cry out for justice and demand that our law enforcers go after the killers and the mastermind, one cannot help raise the question as to who will be next in this growing list of daily killings now reaching tens of thousands,” he further bewailed.
Sen. Kiko Pangilinan (via kikopangilinan.com | Manila Bulletin)
Pangilinan made the call following the assassination of Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Rodel Batocabe who was gunned down by still unidentified assailants in a covered court in Daraga, Albay while he was participating in a gift-giving program for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) last Saturday.
Batocabe is the latest political personality to be violently murdered as the country gears up for the upcoming May 2019 elections.
“We urge the Comelec to clamp down on election-related violence early on lest the situation spiral out of control into a blood drenched May 2019 national and local elections,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
Likewise, the opposition senator condemned the daily killings, which was touted by the Duterte administration as the solution to the country’s ills.
“For every kill, reward money was given by the government. Impunity and police abuse became the order of business. Pretty soon, the killings and in all likelihood the offer of reward money quickly went beyond the drug war to include priests, lawyers, local politicians, journalists, and even businessmen,” Pangilinan lamented.
“For the right price any killing can be arranged, so it seems. As the days go by more and more are beginning to realize that the daily killings is not the solution but is in fact part of the problem,” he pointed out.
“The solution I am afraid lies not so much in the hands of this Administration (that sees nothing wrong with public statements that incite or encourage more killings) but in the hands, in the acts, and the spoken words of more and more ordinary citizens from all walks of life saying we will not sit still and we will speak up against these killings,” he said.
Pangilinan, a member of the opposition, joined other lawmakers who also condoled with Batocabe’s family.
“Rest in peace, Representative Rodel. He was my contemporary at the UP College of Law in the late ‘80s. We may not have been on the same side of the political fence but his violent death in what appears to have been perpetrated by hired assassins should be roundly condemned,” said Pangilinan.
“Rest in peace Rep. Rodel. While we cry out for justice and demand that our law enforcers go after the killers and the mastermind, one cannot help raise the question as to who will be next in this growing list of daily killings now reaching tens of thousands,” he further bewailed.