Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 04:52pm (Mla time) 05/17/2007
DIGOS CITY, Philippines — Post-election violence rocked three Mindanao provinces Wednesday, leaving at least three politicians dead.
The first incident occurred between the groups of Davao del Sur Representative Claude Bautista and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats Malita mayoral candidate Isidro Sarmiento.
Based on police reports, the incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday in front of Sarmiento’s house in the village of Poblacion in Malita town.
Senior Superintendent Anselmo Pinili, Davao del Sur police chief, said the incident was triggered by reports that Sarmiento’s son, Danilo, who ran in the provincial board race, had snatched election returns from the local Comelec office in Malita.
Pinili said Representative Bautista, gubernatorial candidate of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), went to the Sarmientos’ house to seek an explanation from Danilo.
He said it was at this point that the shooting incident occurred.
“But it was not yet clear who fired the first shot,” Pinili said.
The elder Sarmiento, who ran against Bautista’s brother, former governor Benjamin Jr., instantly died of bullet wounds to the head. Danilo later died while being treated at the hospital.
One of Representative Bautista’s escorts was also wounded in the process.
Pinili said an investigation was still being conducted.
Representative Douglas Cagas of Lakas-CMD, Representative Bautista’s closest rival in the gubernatorial race, urged authorities to prosecute those behind the death of the Sarmientos.
Cagas said the incident only proved his fear about violence marring the elections in the province.
He said the Bautistas, a known political clan with clout in the province’s second district, would do anything to defeat their rivals.
But Representative Bautista said Cagas was capitalizing on the incident, which he never wanted to happen.
He said he has no reason to harm the Sarmientos because they were close allies of his father, the late Representative Benjamin Bautista Sr.
“In fact, it was my father who supported his political career,” he said of the elder Sarmiento.
Representative Bautista said when he received report about the supposed election-returns snatching incident, he immediately went to the Sarmiento house to inquire if it really took place.
He said he managed to talk to Danilo about the report.
“But (Danilo’s) father suddenly came out of the house and fired his handgun at me when I was about to leave the premises,” Representative Bautista said.
He said one of his escorts shielded him and took the bullet instead.
“I was just lucky enough that my bodyguard used his body to shield me from the bullet,” Representative Bautista said.
He said his other escorts fired back and hit the Sarmientos in the process.
He rejected insinuations that he ordered his bodyguards to fire at the Sarmientos without provocation.
“Why should I do that when my brother (Benjamin) won with overwhelming votes against Sarmiento in the mayoral race?” he said.
In Polomolok, South Cotabato, a reelectionist councilor who was among those winning the race, was shot dead by a still unidentified attacker on Wednesday night.
Superintendent Robert Kiunisala, South Cotabato police director, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Rogelio Limos was manning their variety variety store in Tuason Subdivision around 7:45 p.m. when shot by a lone gunman, who pretended to buy a bottle of soft drink.
Kiunisala said the victim was scheduled to be proclaimed anytime.
He said Limos, who was hit in the nape, was rushed to the St. Elizabeth Hospital in General Santos City but died later.
Also on Wednesday night, tension gripped Ninoy Aquino town in Sultan Kudarat province when soldiers and policemen, led by the local Comelec officer, allegedly stormed the headquarters of the National Movement for Free Elections – Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (Namfrel-PPCRV), where volunteers were tabulating the result of the elections.
Fr. Raffy Tianero said it was around 7 p.m. when an explosion occurred outside the Namfrel-PPCRV headquarters.
“No one from us was hurt in the blast, which was followed by burst of gun fire,” he said.
Shortly after that, Tianero said municipal election officer Melicano Bernan and his heavily armed escorts entered the building and confiscated the Namfrel copy of the certificates of canvass (COVs).
He said Bernan and his escorts then fled with the COVs.
“We have informed the Comelec (Commission on Elections) about the incident,” Tianero said.
Also in Lebak town, unidentified persons hurled stones at a building being occupied by PPCRV volunteers according to businessman Dodong Patinio.
But Patinio said nobody was hurt in the incident.
Superintendent Jomar Yap, Central Mindanao police spokesperson, said they have yet to receive any report about the alleged incidents in Ninoy Aquino and Lebak towns.
He said the only situation they monitored in Sultan Kudarat was the one that occurred in Kalamansig town, when supporters of two rival politicians engaged in altercation on Tuesday night.
But he said the situation was already resolved and that canvassing has resumed Thursday.
“Everything is normal and quite. The situation in the entire Sultan Kudarat province is under control,” Yap said. Reports from Eldie Aguirre, Orlando Dinoy and Jeoffrey Maitem, with Dennis Santos and Judy Quiros, 
Mindanao
