EDITORIAL - Nip the violence in the bud at once

A man was killed by several gunmen in a mountain barangay in Tuburan. That the man was a bodyguard of the town mayor and that the killing happened just a few days before the elections immediately raises suspicions that the violence was election-related. But even if it was not, the authorities do not have the luxury of time to make distinctions.

They have to assume it was election-related. And the sooner they do, the quicker they can act accordingly. For whether they admit it or not, there is always a perceived difference in the level of response assigned to election-related incidents and ordinary crimes. And that difference makes perfect sense in an environment that is always essentially tense even without the violence.

The authorities need to move quickly. They need to make it appear that they are in control. There is a need to establish order. Election-related violence has a way of swiftly going out of control. Only when the authorities make it clear that they are firmly at the helm can the potential for escalation be held under rein. There is so much more to lose than just elective positions if violence gets out of hand.

Cebu is not exactly known for violence, at least not in the likes of what are considered normal in other notorious hot spots in the country. This is not to say it has not had its share of tensions. And indeed there have been occasional eruptions of violence such as what has transpired in Tuburan. But Cebu has, to a great extent, maintained its level-headedness and peace in most elections. Let us keep it that way.

But it is not all up to the authorities to maintain peace and order. It is also up to the candidates themselves to keep their supporters in check. Candidates need to see and recognize that, more often than not, their supporters tend to be more intense and passionate than their principals. More often than not, it is the supporters who get to kill one another and not the candidates themselves.

Supporters and followers, on the other hand, need to understand that, in the final analysis, their bets are never worth losing their own lives for. Their bets may help them in many ways, give back as best as they can. But the one unassailable fact that differentiates supporters and candidates is that while supporters may die for their bets, bets will never give up their lives for their supporters.

Candidates covet their positions so much that dying for these positions makes no sense. It is not worth the time, money, and effort pursuing these positions if they only end up dying in the process. Candidates, therefore, need to stay alive as much as they can in order for them to reap the untold benefits promised by their coveted positions. That is why they surround themselves with bodyguards and supporters to do the dying for them.