CEBU, Philippines — The town of San Fernando has enough number of teachers to serve in the May 13 polls based on the latest count of the local Commission on Elections office.
As of 6 p.m. yesterday, February 15, the total count was 177, the same number needed to form part of the electoral boards in the town’s 21 polling centers, said San Fernando election officer Renante Angcos.
Each electoral board is comprised of a chairman, poll clerk, and a third member.
Angcos, however, said there might be changes to the number as some teachers may withdraw their intent to serve. Conversely, some teachers who have initially refused to join may also have a change of heart.
As this developed, the peace covenant signing among candidates in San Fernando has been postponed indefinitely.
Angcos said the decision to defer was reached to pave way for the authorities to continue their investigation into the ambush of Mayor Lakambini Reluya and her companions last January 22. Politics is one of the angles being looked into by the police.
Nevertheless, Police Regional Office-7 director Chief Supt. Debold Sinas reiterated that San Fernando remains safe.
He assured yesterday that he will augment security forces there after teachers said they fear serving in the polls due to the series of killings targeting town officials.
“We assure them nga magdungag og tawo para sa (that we will add more personnel for the) elections para pud sa ilang security. Dili ta maka-assure (we cannot assure) a hundred percent (security), but what we can do is increase presence of policemen,” Sinas told reporters.
Last Saturday, February 9, Sinas met with representatives from the Commission on Elections and the Department of Education where the teachers aired their security concerns.
But Sinas pointed out that there have been more cops in the town even before the January 22 ambush that killed Association of Barangay Councils president Ricardo Reluya Jr., husband of Mayor Lakambini Reluya, and two others.
A couple of weeks or so before the ambush, Sinas relieved all police personnel in town, citing their poor performance in the campaign against illegal drugs.
Aside from replacing the 21 cops with new ones, Sinas also added 10 more. These cops patrol highlands and man checkpoints.
Since January, three officials in San Fernando had been killed.
Town councilor Reneboy Dacalos was shot dead by motorcyle-riding gunman last January 10 while Johnny Arriesgado, barangay captain of Magsico, suffered the same fate six days later.
The following week, the van of the Reluyas was ambushed in Talisay City while heading to Cebu City from San Fernando.
San Fernando has since been placed under the category red of election hotspots due to intense political rivalry, presence of private armed groups (PAGs), and history of election-related violence.
Sinas, however, said that despite this, San Fernando will not be placed under Comelec control, which means police will not be allowed inside precinct polls.
Sinas said that the Reluya ambush may be considered a solved case, although the suspects remain at large.
‘No Sharing, Please’
Meanwhile, if only to avoid sowing more fear, netizens are advised not to share social media posts supposedly revealing the officials of San Fernando town who would be killed next.
Sinas said such posts are unfounded and that those behind the “fake” accounts that spread the supposed kill list are now being tracked down by the authorities.
“Naa’y nikatap nga mga fake news kung kinsa na ang mamatay sunod nga opisyal. Amo na ni gipalihok sa Anti-Cybercrime Group aron dili ni maka-cause og dugang kahadlok sa mga tawo sa San Fernando,” he said.
(Some fake news about officials supposed to be killed next has been circulating. We have asked the Anti-Cybercrime Group to look into these posts so they cannot cause further fear among residents.) — JMD (FREEMAN)