The police apprehended
thirty-one people on election day for violation of liquor ban and
seized four homemade shotguns and its ammunitions and a P3,500 worth
of money for alleged vote-buying.
Calbayog City police
chief Supt. Isaias Bañez Tonog presented to local media the homemade
firearms which, he said were taken from the respective residence of
Charnito Miano, 38; Danilo Sarmiento, 43; Julio Branzuela, 36 and
Ezequiel Cosculla, 63 at around 10 a.m. in Barangay Catabunan, Oquendo
District, Calbayog City.
Tonog, who led the
responding police team said that the firearms were seized after
conducting a negotiation and signing of a covenant for an honest,
orderly and peaceful elections between the barangay candidates.
The police chief added
that a concerned citizen tipped the police about barangay candidates
who were observed to be armed with homemade shotgun which made the
residents apprehensive that a failure of election might happen.
“Kay boluntaryo man an
ira pagsurender, ginsidngan ko sira nga diri ta kam pa-filan kaso kay
ini tikang sa tagsa-tagsa nga balay waray man makuha sa iyo mga lawas.
An importante la magin mamingaw. Pero mayda duha nga nandadlagan…ginpabalikan
namon pulis… waray man reported nga bumalik an nandadlagan para
hadlukon an ira mga kalaban,” Tonog explained.
First Time
In the evening of Oct.
29, thirty-one people who includes customers and employees of three
videoke bars in Calbayog.were apprehended who, Tonog said, were caught
selling, serving, and taking intoxicating liquor inside their
establishment.
The two-day liquor ban
started on Oct. 28 and ended Oct. 29 according to the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 8310.
The resolution states
that the violation of said prohibited acts shall be punishable with
imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years and
shall not be subject to probation, and in addition, the guilty party
shall suffer disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of
the right of suffrage.
Cases of violation on
election rules have already been filed against the violators.
“Siring nira nga yana
pala iton nga may yaon nga dakop nga siring siton kay sa national
election waray man ak dide. Seguro kon nakadi ak may yaon ak
nagkadadakop,” Tonog said.
He added that other
business establishments were open the night they did the apprehension
but found them serving only softdrinks.
Comelec resolution No.
8310 provides exemptions to establishments. It stipulates that,
“hotels and other establishments duly certified by the Department of
Tourism as tourist-oriented and habitually in the business of catering
to foreign tourists may be exempted for justifiable reasons from the
liquor ban, provided they secure prior written authority from the
Commission.”
Vote-buying
A P3,500 worth of
money was also presented to media which, Tonog said is from a
complainant of Barangay Oboob, in the same district who received the
money in exchange of the seven votes from the complainant’s family
members.
The police chief said
he had promised them to return the money provided there will be an
orderly election in their barangay.
Of the 157
barangays in Calbayog, only in Barangay Buenavista, an interior
barangay of the city had failure of election. The two aspirants for
Punong Barangay in Bgy. Acedillo received exactly the same number of
votes and settled to break the tie by drawing lots last November 3 in
the City Comelec Office.
