Intimidation, harassment blot campaign sorties
INTO THE HOMESTRETCH
DIRTY politics began to rear its ugly head in Pangasinan in the home stretch of the campaign period after reports of heated confrontations and charges of political harassments were reported in various parts of the province over the weekend.
In Dagupan City, after conflicting stories were aired by opposing camps on the reported incident of harassment allegedly committed by one against the other during a campaign sortie, challenges were hurled to determine who’s lying.
Fourth District Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. and Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. announced in a hastily called press conference that City Administrator Alvin Fernandez, son of re-electionist Mayor Fernandez, has accepted the challenge of Brian Lim, son of mayoral candidate and former Mayor Benjamin Lim, to undergo a lie detector test to find out who of them is telling the truth.
“But the two must take the lie detector’s test together,” De Venecia and Fernandez said.
The incident involving campaigners of the Fernandez and Lim camps in Barangay Bolosan happened last May 2. Both groups have accused each other of having been harassed by their respective armed escorts.
Moments after the incident, Brian Lim went to the police station to report that he and some of his group were manhandled and made to lie down by the group of City Administrator Fernandez.
In a subsequent news conference, Katherine Fernandez, wife of Alvin, accused Brian of twisting the truth and said she and her women volunteers were the victims of harassment and intimidation.
Katherine said she and her groups were doing a house-to-house campaign when a group of armed men supposedly led by the younger Lim chased them.
They had to run and take refuge in one of the houses in the neighborhood. She then called Alvin for help.
Brian Lim and followers filed a complaint on May 6 with the City Prosecutors Office against Fernandez and company.
Katherine Fernandez followed suit by filing her own complaint against Brian Lim and company on the same day.
Mayor Fernandez said since both sides already filed cases against each other, he advised the two groups to leave the issue for the judiciary to resolve.
“Why were the bodyguards of Lim (who are supposed to be policemen) not in uniform? Our police escorts are both in uniform,” De Venecia told newsmen.
On Friday afternoon, Lim and his supporters marched along the city streets to the city plaza, carrying placards deploring the incident and asked for the relief of Supt. Mariano Luis Verzosa, Dagupan City police chief.
Brian maintained that members of the Dagupan Police and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit just stood by while they were being manhandled.
Police Provincial Director Percival Barba promptly relieved 11 SWAT men and policemen on Wednesday after an initial investigation.—LM
COFFINS FOR VILLAGE CHIEFS
In Villasis town, two village chiefs woke up on Sunday morning to find that two coffins with their names on them were delivered to their doorsteps.
Teofilo Salazar Jr., village chief of Puelay, said that he heard a loud thud in front his house at about 2 a.m. Sunday. When he opened the door, he saw a coffin with his name written inside it.
In neighboring Amamperez, village chief Leonardo Ruiz said that at about 2:30 a.m. he, too, found the coffin in yard.
Both are supporters of mayoral candidate Dita Abrenica, wife of Mayor Nonato Abrenica, who is running against former police director Ismael Rafanan.
But in a phone interview, Rafanan denied he had anything to do with the delivery of the coffins.
“This is a desperate effort on their part by creating a scenario and then blame that thing to us,” Rafanan said.
“Why would I do something that will remove votes from me?” he added.
WESTERN PANGASINAN
In Western Pangasinan, first district congressional candidate Makibaka Pulido had complained about the harassment on her supporters by persons closely identified with one of her opponents and with the Bolinao town police.
Pulido said that at around 11 p.m. Sunday, supporters of former Mayor Jesus Celeste went to the house of her supporter Florante de Ferio in Luciente I and forced themselves in.
Two policemen allegedly tried to bring him out of his house but De Ferio was able to call her and asked for her help. “So I told him not to go with the police as they have no arrest warrant,” Pulido said.
But Celeste said the police went to the house of De Ferio because “he fired his gun and his neighbors reported him to the police.”
Celeste accused the media of being “biased” and “paid” and for reporting only the statements of the “accused” and not those of the victims.”
Meanwhile she urged the police not to be partisan during the election period –GC
TAYUG VIOLENCE
In Tayug, Danilo Aguinaldo, 36, a bodyguard of Mayor Carlos Trese Mapili was shot dead before noon Thursday, the first election-related violent incidence recorded in Pangasinan for this year’s elections.
The suspected killer is Normie de Asis, a bodyguard of Vicente Abobo, incumbent Barangay chairman of Lawak, a mayoralty candidate under the Liberal Party.-LM
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