Winning candidates are urged not to insult losers, which might be a reason for them to retaliate.
“Those who are winning, do not taunt the losers,” Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor, regional director of the
Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6), said in a media interview.
Villaflor said those who lost in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) may still have
hurt feelings for not winning the race.
He also reminded winners who may be celebrating their poll victory that the liquor ban is still in effect
and they would be arrested once they commit any violation.
As of Tuesday morning, the PRO6 has recorded two additional cases of suspected election-related
incidents –a shooting where the target was a reelected barangay captain in Iloilo and unjust vexation
involving candidates in Capiz.
The shooting incident victimized re-elected chairperson Renato Lebuna of Barangay Pajo in
Lambunao, Iloilo, whose car was shot at while on his way home after dropping his poll watchers
around 11:50 p.m. on Monday.
Maj. Jojean Suegay, chief of the Lambunao Municipal Police Station, said Lebuna was unharmed,
along with three other passengers. His Isuzu Crosswind, however, had seven bullet holes on the
passenger side from a firearm that is yet to be determined.
The suspect remains at large.
“We have no previous record involving any of the parties, so possibly it has something to do with their
running in the elections. The incident happened after the counting of votes, and the winners have
been proclaimed,” he said.
Suegay said they are coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for validation of
whether or not the incident is election-related.
Priority
Meanwhile, in Antique, reelected Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) president Pamela Azucena Socorro said
she would prioritize promoting the tourism potential of Barangay Idio in her third term.
Socorro said she would lobby to declare their marine protected area as an eco-tourism destination,
embark on reforestation, improve the access roads leading to the four falls and provide livelihood
opportunities for their residents.
Reaching the hidden Igkataw, Kipot, Nabarao and Bulwang waterfalls entails a two to three-hour walk
from the village’s plaza.
“I really felt the trust of the people in my leadership that they have elected me,” she said in an
interview.
Newly-elected barangay councilor Nestor Napalinga Jr. of Barangay Tigbalua I in Sibalom said he
would allocate part of his honorarium for educational assistance to college students and the food and
medicines of senior citizens in their barangay.
Antique Provincial Election Supervisor Salud Milagros Villanueva said in an interview Tuesday that 98
percent or 578 barangays of the total 590 in Antique have already proclaimed their winning
candidates.
“We hope to finish the election canvassing today,” she said.
