Calls on military, police authorities to end election-related incidents in Buenavista
BUENAVISTA, Agusan del Norte — The camp of Partido Federal Ng Pilipinas mayoralty candidate Amy C. Pagaspas of Buenavista, Agusan del Norte has decried the recent atttacks by a group of armed men to at least three barangay chairmen in the municipality with the intent to sow terror and fear among residents as the elections on Monday, May 9, come near.
Pagaspas, who is also the incumbent vice mayor and chair of the Municipal Peace and Order Council, said that the assaults just happened on the same day on May 2, 2022 allegedly by the same group of armed lumads reportedly led by a certain Datu Bawang.
Based on reports, the first incident happened late afternoon of Monday, May 2, in Brgy. Alubihid where the house of the barangay chairman, a known supporter of Team Pagaspas, was raided by at least eight (motor-riding armed men wearing bonnets to cancel their identities and disarmed the barangay tanods, fired their guns and looked for the chairman. With no one responding, the group left with no one was harmed.
Right after that incident, the same modus also happened in Brgy. Abilan where people were also threatened with guns lookng for the barangay chairman and just left while firing their guns indescriminately in the air.
And the third incident took place past 7pm in Barangay 7 when eight riding-in-tandem armed men suddenly stopped in front of the residence of the barangay chair, confiscated the sling bags of the barangay police and were ordered to drop on road pavement. Fireshots were heard and the suspects sped away towards Barangay Sacol.
Even without naming names, Pagaspas hinted that these series of incidents were clearly politically related and the group of Bawang were used to intimidate their supporters on the ground.
“They were all my die-hard supporters,” she said in a text message.
Pagaspas’ husband Norbert, a former mediaman like her turned businessman, was a three-termer mayor of the town until he resigned late last year to prepare for his mayoralty bid in the adjacent city of Butuan.
“I condemned in the strongest term these dastardly acts of our political adversaries using violence to disrupt the peaceful conduct of elections in Buenavista on Monday,” she said.
As chairman of the Municipal Peace and Order Council, Pagaspas called on both the military and police authorities to intensify their campaign to ensure the peaceful conduct of election on May 9.
“Undangi na ninyo ang pagpanghuraw, pagpanghulga, pagpangdaugdaug pagbiaybiay ug pagyatak sa tawhanong katungod sa katawhan sa Buenavista,” reads Pagaspas’ official statement posted on her Facebook page.
She pointed that the town of Buenavista has already progressed and been peaceful since the start of her husband’s administration years ago.
“Our legacy, the Pagaspas Legacy shall continue with my quest to take the helm of the municipality should the people allow me,” she added.
