BACOLOD City – The armed encounter in Calatrava, Negros Occidental was “police-related” and not “election-related,” according to Provincial Election Officer Atty. Jessie Suarez.
Suarez said this yesterday as he stressed that Calatrava and nearby town Toboso are “not under Comelec (Commission on Elections) control.”
On May 4, elements of the Regional Public Safety Battalion 6 chanced upon the Mancao armed group in Calatrava, resulting to a shootout.
Group leader Sabino Mancao and members Imar Himang and Ramel Castor were killed in the encounter.
Police arrested Pepe Lausa, Jose Castor and Romnick Octavio, suspected members of the armed group. Firearms and ammunition were confiscated from them.
Three other suspected armed group members, on the other hand, escaped.
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) said on Monday that it has been monitoring 80 election watchlist areas in the province in relation to the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on May 14.
Suarez said the listing of these villages was based on the reported presence of insurgents and intense political rivalries in the areas.
According to Nocppo, the Mancao armed group is responsible for robberies, extortion and gun-for-hire activities in Calatrava and Toboso.
But Suarez said Nocppo has yet to prove that the armed group meddles with the conduct of elections.
Toboso mayor Richard Jaojoco earlier claimed that some politicians in northern Negros Occidental hire the armed group to intimidate voters during election period./PN
