ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Comelec drops plan to place Pilar under its control

Comelec drops plan to place Pilar under its control

Published Apr 21, 2022 03:52 pm

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, April 21, said it has dropped its plan to place Pilar town in Abra under its control.

Comelec/MB

On March 29, a gun battle occurred between the local policemen and escorts of an official of Pilar town in Abra. Police said the gun duel ensued after a heavily tinted van did not stop at an election checkpoint at the town center.

“I consulted with the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) just this morning I talked to them and asked their opinion if there is a need to declare Pilar under Comelec control. Sabi nila hindi (They said no) and this was confirmed by our regional election director kaya (so) I decided to not pursue the plan anymore,” Comelec Chairperson Saidamen B. Pangarungan said in an ambush interview.

Pangarungan vowed to ensure that gun violence will not threaten the conduct of the 2022 polls.

“I assure you that the Comelec takes this seriously and will take necessary actions to ensure that this kind of violence does not threaten the election,” he said in his speech during the Peace Covenant signing in Abra.

With this, the Comelec chairperson called on candidates in Abra to change the image of the area as “killing fields of the north.”

“Abra has been called the ‘killing fields of the north’ in the past. I now call on all candidates to work together to erase this moniker of notoriety. Let us strive to respect the people’s vote and the sanctity of the ballot,” Pangarungan appealed.

“ I hope that this Peace Covenant Signing does not become a mere formality or meaningless ceremony. I implore all candidates to maintain the dignity and level-headedness that is required of a statesman and public official.”

'Hotly contested'

Per Pangarungan, the Comelec has identified 12 "hotly contested" municipalities in Maguindanao.

"We have identified 12 hotly contested municipalities actually nagbabarilan na sila ngayon mga ambush-ambush but hindi pa lumalala, 'pag lumala 'yan mapipilitan akong ideclare under Comelec control (they are currently shooting each other now, ambush, but it has not yet worsened, but once it does, we will put them under Comelec control)," the Comelec chairperson told the media.

Also present during the event were PNP Chief Gen. Dionardo B. Carlos, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Andres C. Centino, Comelec commissioners, candidates, and representatives of various organizations.

Related Tags

comelec control POLLS2022 Pilar abra Comelec elections 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.