Esperon: Trillanes win means no coup in the offing

05/18/2007 | 06:25 PM
As far as Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon is concerned, a win by Genuine Opposition senatorial bet, ex-Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, could at least minimize, if not eradicate, disgruntled soldiers from resorting to unconstitutional means in effecting changes in government.

“If indeed he becomes a senator…probably wouldn’t it be also good because instead of resorting to unconstitutional ways, now he is mainstream. So he won’t be engaged in coup d’ etat…there is no longer destabilization from his side. That’s one way of looking at it,” Esperon said.

Esperon spoke with reporters in Camp Aguinaldo after a luncheon meeting with Defense chief Hermogenes Ebdane and Akbayan Rep. Loretta Rosales.

Trillanes is among the core leaders facing court martial proceedings as well as coup d’ etat charges before a Makati court in connection with the short-lived Oakwood mutiny in July 2003.

At present, Trillanes is detained at the Philippine Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio. He waged his campaign through his relatives and other representatives and it was only in the last stages in the campaign that the Makati regional court gave him access to media.

Based on the partial, unofficial count of the Namfrel (National Movement for Free Elections) as of Friday afternoon, Trillanes remains included in the list of winning senatorial candidates at 12th spot.

On the other hand, he is ranked 13th based on the official Comelec tally, closely trailing behind Team Unity’s Ralph Recto.

“If he becomes a senator, then I hope he performs well but then we must wait for the final results of the elections and whatever the results will be, that must be what we must abide by,” Esperon said.

But the AFP chief stressed that should Trillanes or any other candidate lose, they should also accept their fate wholeheartedly. “That’s also true for all candidates. If there are those who should concede, they should concede. If the counting is over, then let us get back to work, there’s a lot of work to do.”

On the current strong showing of Trillanes, Esperon said: “Nobody has a complete explanation on that.”

“How could I gauge the public’s way of choosing who they vote for…Whatever will be the results, let’s take it as a mandate from the people,” he added.

Esperon had said that court martial proceedings against Trillanes will continue even if he wins, adding that the former Navy officer could still be meted out sanctions if found guilty of the charges against him.

For his part, Ebdane attributed Trillanes’ strong showing to the sympathy votes obtained previously by Gregorio Honasan, a former rebel military officer who first won a Senate seat in 1995.

Incidentally, Honasan is also showing good chances of getting back at the Senate in both Namfrel and Comelec tallies. - 

Comelec suspends canvassing in Laguna town

Comelec suspends canvassing in Laguna town
By Niña Catherine Calleja
Southern Luzon Bureau
Last updated 07:33pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
LAGUNA, Philippines — Around 1,000 people with placards gathered in front of the municipal hall here as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday noon ordered the Board of Canvassers (BOCs) in this municipality to stop the canvassing.

The people who were rallying in front of the municipal hall said they voluntarily went there and were not sure until when they would stay there.

Some of the placards said, “Yatco tanggapin mo na ang pagkatalo mo. ‘Wag mong babuyin ang bayan ng Biñan, (Yatco accept your defeat. Do not dishonor Biñan.)” and “Yatco at Abalos tigilan ninyo ang Biñan (Yatco and Abalos, leave Biñan alone).”

The order came after mayoral candidate Jose Ruben Yatco filed a petition on Thursday to suspend the canvassing and declare a failure of elections.

The poll body also ordered to “get the instant case of hearing.”

Yatco, in his petition, said around 50 percent of the voters were disenfranchised because of “several questionable events.”

The petition cited that unidentified civilians announced the suspension of election before the opening of the precincts and during the prescribed voting.

It also mentioned that the municipal treasurer withheld the release of the election paraphernalia causing the delay of the opening of the precincts.

The petition said that the people in Biñan failed to elect a mayor of the municipality and that what occurred is “not only a failure of election but also an electoral exercise which is illegal, irregular, and void,” he said.

The canvassing in Biñan stopped at around 12 noon.

The Parish Pastoral Council on Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in Biñan has only tabulated 86 percent of the total ERs.

Their partial count showed Yatco, with 23,404 votes tailing Marlyn Alonte with 29,781 votes.

Other mayoral candidates are Hermisita Deocaris with 244 votes and Alexis Desuasido with 4,374.

Around 100 supporters of Marlyn Alonte were conducting a vigil in protest of the suspension of the canvassing.

Emmanuel Maestro, campaign staff of Alonte said that there was no failure of elections.

He said the election was “peaceful and successful” if only the canvassing was not suspended.

But Maestro admitted that there were delays and irregularities.

“But, who is capable of doing that?” he asked.

He said Yatco, who is the son-in-law of Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos, has the capability and connection to delay or rig the election results.

The supporters of Alonte said they would not stop the vigil-protest unless the Comelec proceeds the canvassing.

Alonte, daughter of former Biñan mayor Bayani Alonte, ran under the United Opposition while Yatco under the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.

Lanao del Sur Comelec won’t give Namfrel 6th ER copy

By Ryan Rosauro, Nash Maulana
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 07:07pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
MARAWI CITY — Local election monitors in Lanao del Sur believe operations to rig the outcome of elections in the province are taking place.

Hadj Abdullah Dalidig, provincial chair of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), said their suspicions were triggered by the refusal of local election officials to hand over to them the sixth copy of election returns (ERs) from the precincts.

“There is the possibility the ‘dagdag-bawas’ [vote-padding and -shaving) operation now has gone down to the level of the ER," Dalidig said.

When Daligdig exposed the dagdag-bawas in 2004, it was primarily done by reworking the figures on Certificates of Canvass (CoCs) from the town and city levels. These CoCs are the basis for the provincial canvass.

The ERs, on the other hand, are the basis for town and city canvassing.

Under election rules, the sixth copy of the ER is supposed to be handed over to the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) accredited citizen's arm, which is Namfrel.

Without the ERs, Namfrel's quick count operation has been experiencing delays.

A quick count is supposed to be a countervailing measure against a rigged official count. Without the ERs, Namfrel is effectively defanged and unable to monitor irregularities in the vote count.

Dalidig said he believes withholding the ERs is a deliberate strategy on the part of local Comelec officials "to hide the mysteries that they are going to do."

Armed with figures derived from the ERs, Dalidig acted as whistleblower to the massive fraud in Lanao del Sur allegedly committed by Comelec officials to favor President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 presidential elections.

Earlier, Sinab Ibrahim, district coordinator of the Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms (Citizens CARE), warned of a "rework" of the turnout of the senatorial vote.

As of Friday morning, 12 towns have completed their precinct-level canvass but Namfrel is only in possession of five complete sets of ERs from five towns -- Bumbaran, Malabang, Ditsaan Ramain, Bubong and Madamba.

Most of the Marawi ERs are also with Namfrel.

The release of ERs to Namfrel is done on a bulk basis, meaning, these are given after canvass of all the precincts in a town has been completed.

Although the bulk release does not sit well with Dalidig, he said he still gave local Comelec officials the benefit of the doubt as long as the ERs are delivered within the day the last precinct-level canvass is completed.

Dalidig said a period beyond that would give unscrupulous poll officials lead time to alter the ERs’ contents, "especially if they are armed with official ER forms," and open the possibility Namfrel's sixth copy will be the reworked ER.

He complained that election officers are inclined to give the ERs to the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), which is only accredited for poll watching but not for the quick count.

The ERs of Sultan Gumander, Wao and Tagoloan towns are with PPCRV. Still in the Comelec's possession are the ERs of Balindong, Calanogas, Lumbacaunayan and Molundo towns.

While precinct-level canvassing for Marawi was done 11:30 a.m. of Tuesday, the ERs were released to Namfrel by installment beginning the afternoon of the same day. By Friday, 25 ERs more are still with Comelec.

Further complicating things is the existence of another PPCRV group operating in the province.

Several volunteers told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net, that this group includes personalities with ties to candidates. And this is the PPCRV group that the Comelec has given the ERs to.

The stage, said Ibrahim, appears set for vote-rigging.

In the face of all these, Dalidig has called on religious and traditional leaders in Lanao del Sur to help Namfrel retrieve the ERs from the Comelec.

Last Friday, Namfrel was able to secure the release of the Madamba ERs following the intercession of Abdulhalim Saumay, judge of the Shariah Court of neighboring Molundo town.

Meanwhile, in Cotabato City, Lintang Bedol, Maguindanao provincial elections supervisor, denied accusations that no elections were held in the province on May 14.

Eid Kabalu, spokesperson of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, on Wednesday said reports coming from the field showed "there was no actual conduct of elections in many parts of Maguindanao."

Kabalu also said MILF members and supporters claimed election paraphernalia did not even reach some polling precincts in the province.

Norie Unas, speaking for Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, said the 12-0 sweep of the TEAM Unity candidates in the province was the result of extensive consultations that the governor had been regularly conducting with local officials.

Bedol, on the other hand, said the law now recognizes the influence of leaders on the electorate of local government units.

"There is now the 'Bailiwick Doctrine' in which the law recognizes the influence of political leadership to generate [bloc] voting. Dati-rati ang alam lang natin yung [before, all we knew was the so-called] Lagumbay Doctrine, now we have the ‘Bailiwick Doctrine’,” he said.

Bedol said the Bailiwick Doctrine was promulgated by the Supreme Court as a judicial resolution on a previous electoral case, which by legal tradition, automatically becomes a law.

The Lagumbay Doctrine, named after the late senator Winceslao Lagumbay of Laguna, its principal author in Congress in the 1950s, prescribes the invalidation of votes where the number of registered voters does not match with the community’s voting population.

The elaboration, he said, extends the coverage of the law from cases of statistical improbability to justification of results in the tail-end of the counting by fact or reality of bailiwick control.

He said one such factor of justification under the “Bailiwick Doctrine” is the acknowledged influence of political leaders upon the voters.

Three Army companies sent to Abra to help quell violence

By Joel Guinto

Last updated 06:11pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
MANILA, Philippines — Armed Forces chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. has ordered the deployment of three Army companies, or roughly 360 troops, to Abra province, where election violence persists.

The Division Reconnaissance Company will be plucked from Jolo in the south and deployed alongside two companies from the 51st Infantry Battalion, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro.

Esperon earlier said that an Army battalion, or around 400 soldiers, is in Abra, which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) placed under its control.

“The said deployment [of the additional companies] is in response to developments in the area,” Bacarro said in a text message.

On Thursday, one person was killed and the wife of a mayoral candidate was wounded in a shooting incident in Bangued town, Abra province.

Before Thursday’s incident, the Abra police validated 13 election-related violent incidents (ERVIs) that left 12 people killed and 10 others wounded.

Esperon also directed the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) to deploy additional troops to Cotabato City, where an explosion at a bus station on Friday left at least one person killed and dozens other wounded.

(UPDATE) Two youth party-list watchers abducted, slain

(UPDATE) Two youth party-list watchers abducted, slain

Military accused

By Erwin Oliva, Thea Alberto, Joel Guinto

Last updated 05:47pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
MANILA, Philippines–Two poll watchers of the Kabataan (Youth) party-list group were abducted and murdered in Capalonga, Camarines Norte, the group said Friday.

A Kabataan statement said Jun Bagasbas, 20 years old, and Ronilo Vallevare, both Kabataan organizers and poll watchers, were allegedly seized by soldiers on May 15 and were found dead the next day between Barangay (village) Mataque and Catabaguangan..

The same information was relayed by Tonyo Cruz, information officer of Bayan Muna (People First,) which is allied with Kabataan.

Police have yet to confirm the incident.

Contacted for reaction, Lieutenant Colonel Rhoderick Parayno, spokesman of the Southern Luzon Command did not directly address the disappearance and death of the two poll watchers.

He did say there was an encounter between government troops and 10 New People’s Army guerrillas in Capalonga on May 16 but that they were still checking if there were any casualties.

“This is a very sad period for all vigilant youth and citizens,” Raymond Palatino, Kabataan national president and nominee, said. He noted that the murder of Bagasbas and Vallevare came right after the death of a teacher and poll watcher when armed men attacked the school they were serving in and set it ablaze.

Palatino said Kabataan is holding government accountable for the recent deaths because it has failed “to address the climate of impunity that has permeated this election period at the onset.

Kabataan will stage an indignation rally at the Timog Circle in Quezon City at 4 p.m. Friday.

Originally posted 2:01pm

MNLF calls for failure of election in Sulu

By Julie Alipala
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 05:39pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare a failure of election in the entire province of Sulu.

Habib Zain Jali, chair of the Bangsamoro People’s Congress and spiritual adviser of Sulu gubernatorial candidate and MNLF chairman Nur Misuari, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net, that massive election cheating had already been monitored even before the actual voting took place.

“The Bangsamoro People’s Congress will not recognize the result of the election and the conduct of electoral process for obvious reasons – wide-scale fraudulent acts,” Jali said.

He cited the case of Luuk town where “midnight voting” allegedly happened.

“They [Comelec personnel] could easily detect that all the ballots bore one thumb mark specimen,” he said.

Jali also said thousands of registered voters were disenfranchised as “they are still displaced and languishing in different evacuation centers.”

There are 251,218 registered voters in Sulu’s 18 towns.

Those who failed to vote on Monday included MNLF commander Ustadz Habier Malik and his men, whom government forces have been pursuing for more than a month now.

Malik registered as a voter in December last year, apparently expecting the candidacy of Misuari.

When Misuari filed his certificate of candidacy, the MNLF announced that it was 90 percent sure of victory, claiming most of the people of Sulu would support Misuari.

But on April 13, Malik and his men attacked several military camps in retaliation for government troops’ raid on an MNLF camp two days earlier.

The fighting has displaced more than 80,000 people.

The MNLF said at least 2,000 of its fighters were not able to cast their votes last Monday. Most of those displaced and who are still in evacuation centers are also known Misuari supporters.

Pinky Suarez, Sulu coordinator of the Philippine National Red Cross, said thousands of families from Panamao, Kalinggalang Caluang, Panglima Estino, Tongkil and Indanan towns are still in evacuation centers.

Suarez said she will not be surprised if the turnout of voters would be very low.

Jali blamed the national government for the reported low turnout of voters in Sulu.

“They [government] should have resolved first the crisis in Sulu before holding the election. That is why we don’t recognize the results” he said.

Jali said as far as the MNLF is concerned, its leader, Misuari, still has the “magic.”

“Maas [Elder] remains strong and still has a following. The crisis situation has put him down,” Jali said.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they still do not have a clear picture of the Sulu election, not even data on voter turnout.

“We’ll have to wait for about two weeks before we can get the actual turnout of voters,” he said.

Jimenez advised the MNLF to file a formal petition to declare a failure of election in Sulu before the Comelec.

2 Namfrel volunteers missing in Maguindanao

By Thea Alberto

Last updated 05:32pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
MANILA, Philippines — At least two volunteers of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) assigned to Maguindanao have not been contacted by the group’s officials since the May 14 polls ended, Edward Go, chairman of the poll watchdog, said Friday.

Go said Namfrel field volunteers Shiela Algabre and Joseph Fernandez were supposed to get election returns (ERs) but had not been in touch with their coordinator for Maguindanao, whom he identified only as a Fr. Tanod-tanod.

“We are waiting for the report…We are still trying to find out the real reason why we did not receive the ER’s from [the] volunteers assigned [and why they] cannot be contacted,” said Go.

He added that Namfrel has yet to contact the Commission on Elections to ask whether anyone from the poll watchdog received the ERs.

“Nobody has seen a single ER from Maguindanao…we hope they are safe and in good condition and nothing bad has happened to them,” Go added.

At least 100 field volunteers have been deployed to Maguindanao.

73 of 102 ARMM towns post 10-177% growth in number of voters

73 of 102 ARMM towns post 10-177% growth in number of voters
By Veronica Uy

Last updated 05:03pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
PASAY CITY, Philippines — Is there an exodus of people to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)? The rise in the number of registered voters from 2004 to 2007 seems to suggest so.

Comelec data presented in the INQUIRER.net electoral map, shows that 73 of 102 ARMM towns, or 72 percent, posted double-digit growth in the number of voters from 2004 to 2007. In Lanao del Sur, the number rose to as high as 177 percent.

The average annual population growth rate in the special autonomous region is 2.36 percent.

ARMM, which consists of Lanao Del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, and Basilan, has been called “factories of fraud” by the opposition where massive election cheating through vote padding and shaving was allegedly orchestrated by mid-level election officials during the 2004 presidential polls.

But while everyone is looking at the vote count, nobody seems to be looking at the most basic data — voters’ list.

When shown the Comelec data, Elections Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, who is in charge of the special autonomous region, agreed they are “a cause for concern,” but he would not go as far as calling them “statistically improbable.”

Sarmiento said somebody brought to his attention the unusually high increases in some Lanao del Sur earlier this month, but noted that it was too late to do anything about it because the period of exclusion had passed in February.

“There was no more time to cleanse the list legally through exclusion proceedings,” he told INQUIRER.net

In Lanao del Sur, all but four of its 40 towns posted more than 10 percent growths in voters’ populations. Buadiposo-Buntong has 120.40 percent more voters now than in 2004; Bubong, 49.56 percent; Ditsaan-Ramain, 32.74 percent; Kapai, 26.48 percent; Lumba-Bayabao, 61.77 percent;

Maguing, 58.49 percent; Marantao, 49.52 percent; Masiu, 46.51 percent; Mulondo, 73.91 percent; Piagapo, 32.26 percent; Poona-Bayabao (Gata), 51.73 percent; Saguiaran, 45.89 percent; Tagoloan, 52.28 percent; Tamparan, 66.21 percent; Taraka, 51.12 percent; Wao, 30.72 percent; Marawi City, 49.88 percent;

Bacolod-Kalawi, 31.40 percent; Balindong, 23.72 percent; Bayang, 55.86 percent; Binidayan, 147.78 percent; Butig, 45.75 percent; Calanogas, 90.93 percent; Ganassi, 29.19 percent; Kapatagan, 18.99 percent; Lumbatan, 36.70 percent; Lumbayanague, 20.46 percent;

Madalum, 105.19 percent; Madamba, 22.14 percent; Malabang, 10.98 percent; Marogong, 82.15 percent; Pagayawan (Tatarikan), 66.02 percent; Pualas, 33.93 percent; Sultan Dumalondong, 171.88 percent; Sultan Gumander, 55.08 percent; and Tugaya, 45.08 percent.

The Comelec, on Sarmiento’s request, has created Task Force Lanao Del Sur for the holding of the special elections there next week. He said the task force will also look into these unusual jumps in the province’s voting population.

The increases in the towns in other ARMM provinces were not as glaring.

In Basilan, only four of 10 towns posted double-digit increases in voter population: Lamitan, 13.43 percent; Lantawan, 17.40 percent; Maluso, 20.95 percent; and Sumisip, 18.66 percent.

In Sulu, no triple-digit growth rates were noted, although 16 of its 18 towns posted more than 10-percent increases: Hadji Panglima Tahil, 12.40 percent; Indanan, 19.36 percent; Jolo, 17.44 percent; Maimbung, 22.36 percent; Pangutaran, 15.95 percent; Patikul, 22.90 percent; Talipao, 20.23 percent; Kalingalan Caluang, 29.77 percent; Lugus, 19.72 percent; Luuk, 35.95 percent; Old Panamao 21.91 percent; Pandami, 23.27 percent; Panglima Estino, 22.66 percent; Siasi, 17.92 percent; Tapul, 13.52 percent; and Tongkil, 14.52 percent.

In Tawi-tawi, eight of its 11 towns posted growths more than 10 percent, but none exceeding 50 percent: Bongao (capital), 15.37 percent; Languyan, 16.56 percent; Mapun (Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi), 23.98 percent; Sapa-Sapa, 16.76 percent; Simunul, 17.04 percent; South Ubian, 20.41 percent; Tandubas, 12.95 percent; Turtle Islands, 33.08 percent.

In Maguindanao, only nine of its 23 towns had voters’ population growths higher than 10 percent: Ampatuan, 10.37 percent; Datu Abdullah Sanki, 19.23 percent; Datu Paglas, 12.52 percent; Datu Saudi Ampatuan, 17.78 percent; Datu Unsay, 27.63 percent; Pagalungan, 15.82 percent; Paglat, 43.05 percent; Shariff Aguak (Maganoy), 19.83 percent; and South Upi, 72.70 percent.

In an earlier interview with INQUIRER.net, Ernesto Del Rosario, Comelec director for its information technology department, which was responsible for the cleansing of the voters’ list, admitted the increases are abnormal.

Del Rosario, who has been including in the Comelec budget an item for AFIS or Automated Fingerprint Identification System since 2003, said the efficacy of the cleansing process they used — weeding out duplicate names on the voters’ list — is low.

“AFIS is almost fool-proof. We could go with DNA matching but that would be too intrusive on our privacy,” he said of the system that is used by the United States ’ Federal Bureau of Investigation to confirm identities.

In his paper pushing for the 30-million-dollar project, Del Rosario said: “Historically, everyone knows that the country’s voters’ database is seriously tainted and for many decades continue to harbor systemic defects that create snafus during each and every election.”

Mayor-elect’s impatience causes tension in Isabela town

Mayor-elect’s impatience causes tension in Isabela town
By Peter La. Julian
Northern Luzon Bureau
Last updated 04:59pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
RAMON, Isabela — Tensions rose in this town on Friday when newly proclaimed mayor-elect Wilfredo Tabag ordered the ejection from office of incumbent Mayor Raymond Espidol even though Tabag’s term of office officially begins July 1.

Tabag defeated Espidol’s wife, Sarah, in the mayoral race here.

The mayor-elect also issued a memorandum ordering the head of the municipal human resources management office here to disregard the May 8 memorandum of Espidol terminating the services of 99 emergency employees in different offices.

Most of these employees were appointed by Tabag, who held the office of mayor until he was ousted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last April.

The memorandum, dated May 16 and bearing the letterhead of the office of the municipal mayor, was signed by Tabag.

“He [Tabag] has no legal personality to be issuing such a memorandum as he has yet to assume office on July 1,” said Isagani de la Cruz, municipal administrator, said.

Espidol won the mayoral race in 2004 but was replaced by Tabag last year when a new municipal board of canvassers proclaimed him the winner in that election.

Espidol contested Tabag’s proclamation as the winning candidate in a petition he filed with the Comelec. Last April 17, the Comelec issued an en banc resolution ousting Tabag from office. The poll body ruled that the election returns from the town’s 41 precincts in the 2004 elections were spurious, substituted and manufactured.

Espidol assumed office on April 19.

Inspector Rogelio Taliping, Ramon’s police chief, personally informed Espidol about Tabag’s order for the incumbent mayor to vacate his office. He said he received Tabag’s instructions Thursday morning.

But Espidol laughed off Tabag’s order, telling Taliping that he would only vacate his office at noon on June 30 when his term expires.

Espidol said his May 8 memo that Tabag wanted disregarded had been enforced and the 99 employees were supposed to have stopped working on May 16.

“I will vacate my office on June 30,” Espidol said.

Dennis August Sanchez, chair of the municipal board of canvassers, proclaimed Tabag and other local winners on Wednesday night.

Tabag got 9,186 votes while Espidol’s wife Sarah obtained 7,203 votes.

Batangas school adopts name of teacher who died in fire

Batangas school adopts name of teacher who died in fire
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez

Last updated 03:40pm (Mla time) 05/18/2007
TAYSAN, Batangas — From the ashes of the burned school building in this town will rise a new structure that will be named after Nellie Banaag, the teacher who perished in the fire, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has said.

Lapus said the Pinagbayanan Elementary School would adopt the name of Banaag to honor her.

Banaag and poll watcher Leticia Ramos were found in the restroom of the one of the classrooms after five armed men torched the school at dawn Tuesday.

Two of the suspects have been identified as members of the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG) of the Philippine National Police.

Banaag has been teaching at the school for the past 22 years. Her colleagues described her as being like a “big sister” to them “always helpful, understanding, and very responsible.”

Francia Ogsimer, the school principal, was in near tears as she surveyed the damaged rooms.

She pointed to reporters the spot where their new television and DVD player used to be.

“Our new computer is also gone,” she added.

For a small school like theirs, Ogsimer said these items were very precious since they aided the learning of the children.

The fire also reduced to ashes the children’s most important possession — books, some of which were still bundled for distribution for the opening of classes next month.

Ogsimer said that it was generally peaceful in their town, but with what had happened, some teachers have begun fearing for their lives and were now thinking twice about serving out their poll duty.

Originally posted at 03:12 pm