200 troops guarded Maguindanao facility
By Charlie Señase
Inquirer Mindanao
Filed Under: Elections, Robbery and theft, Crime, Eleksyon 2010, Security (general)
SHARIFF AGUAK, MAGUINDANAO, Philippines—Suspected thieves broke into and ransacked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial office in this capital town, but police officials were surprised over the report, saying the place was heavily secured.
“They (thieves) could have [entered] … the premises during the holidays because we learned of [it] … only on Monday when we reported for work,” Estelita Orbase, provincial election supervisor, said late Tuesday.
In Manila, two senators on Wednesday raised suspicions about the theft and urged the Comelec head office to investigate. They said it might be part of cleaning up the cheating mess committed there during the 2004 and 2007 elections.
“The suspicion is very strong that they’re clearing the office of incriminatory documents,” said Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
Orbase said the intruders gained entry to the Comelec office through the windows by detaching the jalousies. They took the water dispenser and some kitchen utensils, but Orbase said some documents might be missing .
“We are still trying to find out what are the other missing articles, which might be of significant value to the coming polls,” she said.
Senior Supt. Alex Lineses, provincial police chief, said the Comelec had not reported the robbery to police authorities and was baffled that the robbers could easily enter the Comelec office because it was being heavily secured.
“We have our men and the military securing the perimeter, both inside and outside, and it is impossible that robbers were able to penetrate [the office],” Lineses said.
At least 200 soldiers and policemen are deployed at the provincial capitol compound, which is also surrounded by a concrete fence. Employees must write their names at the gates before they can enter the compound and their offices.
Heavy troop deployment
The heavy troop deployment was prompted by the election-related massacre of 57 people, including 30 journalists, at Ampatuan town in Maguindanao last Nov. 23. Several top civilian officials, mostly members of the Ampatuan clan, were arrested.
A few days after the military takeover of the province on Dec. 5, lawmen seized election-related documents from a warehouse allegedly owned by the Ampatuan clan in Shariff Aguak. The documents, including voter’s registration forms and voter’s IDs, were dug up along with firearms and ammunition.
Orbase had confirmed that the recovered documents were authentic and were issued by the Comelec. She could not say why it ended up being buried at the warehouse.
Last Dec. 11, more voter’s IDs were found near the house of acting Maguindanao Gov. Sajid Ampatuan.
‘Revelations’
The poll officer of Shariff Aguak at that time, Allan Obpon, was to be invited to explain why the election-related documents were taken out of the Comelec office. But he died on Dec. 11 of heatstroke while on an Islamic pilgrimage in Mecca.
The documents were moved to the Comelec provincial office pending investigation.
In a phone interview, Pimentel said it was possible that some people were “worried about the revelations of what really happened in the 2004 presidential election, as well as in the 2007 elections.”
For his part, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said authorities should identify the people behind the latest break-in as it would appear that it was related to the massive cheating committed there in 2004 and 2007.
The robbery could have been committed by people “who may be compromised to whatever pieces of evidence that had been carted away,” said Biazon. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño in Manila
source: Inquirer.net
By Charlie Señase
Inquirer Mindanao
Filed Under: Elections, Robbery and theft, Crime, Eleksyon 2010, Security (general)
SHARIFF AGUAK, MAGUINDANAO, Philippines—Suspected thieves broke into and ransacked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial office in this capital town, but police officials were surprised over the report, saying the place was heavily secured.
“They (thieves) could have [entered] … the premises during the holidays because we learned of [it] … only on Monday when we reported for work,” Estelita Orbase, provincial election supervisor, said late Tuesday.
In Manila, two senators on Wednesday raised suspicions about the theft and urged the Comelec head office to investigate. They said it might be part of cleaning up the cheating mess committed there during the 2004 and 2007 elections.
“The suspicion is very strong that they’re clearing the office of incriminatory documents,” said Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
Orbase said the intruders gained entry to the Comelec office through the windows by detaching the jalousies. They took the water dispenser and some kitchen utensils, but Orbase said some documents might be missing .
“We are still trying to find out what are the other missing articles, which might be of significant value to the coming polls,” she said.
Senior Supt. Alex Lineses, provincial police chief, said the Comelec had not reported the robbery to police authorities and was baffled that the robbers could easily enter the Comelec office because it was being heavily secured.
“We have our men and the military securing the perimeter, both inside and outside, and it is impossible that robbers were able to penetrate [the office],” Lineses said.
At least 200 soldiers and policemen are deployed at the provincial capitol compound, which is also surrounded by a concrete fence. Employees must write their names at the gates before they can enter the compound and their offices.
Heavy troop deployment
The heavy troop deployment was prompted by the election-related massacre of 57 people, including 30 journalists, at Ampatuan town in Maguindanao last Nov. 23. Several top civilian officials, mostly members of the Ampatuan clan, were arrested.
A few days after the military takeover of the province on Dec. 5, lawmen seized election-related documents from a warehouse allegedly owned by the Ampatuan clan in Shariff Aguak. The documents, including voter’s registration forms and voter’s IDs, were dug up along with firearms and ammunition.
Orbase had confirmed that the recovered documents were authentic and were issued by the Comelec. She could not say why it ended up being buried at the warehouse.
Last Dec. 11, more voter’s IDs were found near the house of acting Maguindanao Gov. Sajid Ampatuan.
‘Revelations’
The poll officer of Shariff Aguak at that time, Allan Obpon, was to be invited to explain why the election-related documents were taken out of the Comelec office. But he died on Dec. 11 of heatstroke while on an Islamic pilgrimage in Mecca.
The documents were moved to the Comelec provincial office pending investigation.
In a phone interview, Pimentel said it was possible that some people were “worried about the revelations of what really happened in the 2004 presidential election, as well as in the 2007 elections.”
For his part, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said authorities should identify the people behind the latest break-in as it would appear that it was related to the massive cheating committed there in 2004 and 2007.
The robbery could have been committed by people “who may be compromised to whatever pieces of evidence that had been carted away,” said Biazon. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño in Manila
source: Inquirer.net
