Bumaba ng 55 porsiyento ang bilang ng election-related violent incidents na naitala nitong May 13 midterm polls kumpara sa 2016 presidential elections, isiniwalat ngayong Biyernes ng Philippine National Police (PNP).
Ayon kay Police Colonel Bernard Banac, tagapagsalita ng PNP, na nasa kabuuang 60 insidente sa buong bansa ang iniulat sa awtoridad simula noong election period noong Enero 13 hanggang Hunyo 7. Ito ay mas mababa sa 133 insidente na naitala noong 2016.
Sinabi ni Banac na 51 poll-related violence ang naitala simula Enero hanggang May 12 (pre-election); walong kaso noong Mayo 13 o noong mismong eleksiyon; at isa matapos ang eleksiyon.
“There is a marked decrease of 55 percent in the number of election-related violent incidents. We attribute this to the early security preparations of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], PNP and Comelec [Commission on Elections],” sinabi ni Banac sa isang press briefing sa Camp Crame.
Ang election-related violence ay ikinamatay ng 23 katao at ikinasugat ng 46 iba pa, dagdag ng PNP official.
Noong 2016 elections, sinabi ni Banac na 50 katao ang namatay.
“As much as possible, we want to reduce it to the lowest level so we are still not contented that we have recorded 60 incidents,” aniya.
“In 2022, we will aspire for a lower number if not totally zero incident,” pangako niya.
Ang election period ngayong taon ay magtatapos sa Hunyo 12.
-Martin A. Sadongdong at Fer Taboy
