VZCZCXRO8147
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #1613/01 1370914
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170914Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6535
INFO RUEHZS/ASEAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 001613 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM RP
SUBJECT: PHILIPPINE ELECTION-RELATED VIOLENCE 
 
Ref: A.  MANILA 1544 
 ¶B.  MANILA 1521 
 ¶C.  MANILA 1494 
 ¶D.  MANILA 1467 
 ¶E.  MANILA 1215 
 ¶F.  MANILA 1073 
 
------------------- 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) 2007 election-related violence has taken the lives of 
local candidates, political supporters, members of the police and 
military, election workers, and by-standers.  While the police 
privately claimed to have ruled out all but 51 campaign-era killings 
as politically motivated, media and other sources have reported at 
least l26 election-related deaths, with 21 in the final week and 11 
on Election Day.  Both the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the 
Philippine National Police (PNP) nonetheless assessed that - with 
some isolated incidents -- the nationwide elections were "relatively 
peaceful" and have predicted the violence will now subside. 
President Arroyo has ordered the PNP, the Armed Forces of the 
Philippines, and the Department of Justice to cooperate and promptly 
to file cases against the perpetrators. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Whatever the exact number, the tragic deaths and injuries 
are reflective of larger problems within the Philippines: inadequate 
enforcement even of existing restrictions on guns (during the 
campaign period, new permits were theoretically required for each 
gun-carrier); widespread availability of weapons; a "culture of 
impunity" that makes murder -- for any reason -- relatively 
risk-free; under-funded and under-trained law enforcement agencies; 
reluctance of witnesses to offer testimony for fear of retaliation 
due to an inadequate witness protection program; and, a weak and 
slow-working judicial system.  In our ongoing campaign against 
unlawful killings, the USG is actively seeking to provide additional 
assistance to help the Philippines address these myriad problems. 
 
---------------- 
POLITICAL DEATHS 
---------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Between December 2006 and May 2007, media accounts and NGO 
sources have reported at least 126 people killed and 149 injured in 
217 election-related incidents nationwide.  Sixty were politicians 
seeking reelection or new candidates; fifteen were policemen 
providing security to politicians; and eight were soldiers.  The 
rest were supporters or civilians, including election workers who 
died in an arson-related fire of a polling center.  Among the three 
main regions, Luzon and Mindanao accounted for a majority of the 
incidents. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  While Philippine National Police (PNP) statistics as of 
May 9 already listed 99 election-related killings, on May 17 PNP 
shared with Embassy privately a new compilation revising its count 
down to only 51 such political killings in this campaign season. 
PNP officials explained that further investigations had indicated 
non-political motives in all other cases.  PNP has not yet made its 
revised version public. 
 
¶5.  (U) Both the COMELEC and PNP publicly declared this year's 
elections "relatively peaceful," with casualties "significantly 
lower" than during the 2004 election campaign, when there were 149 
deaths in 249 incidents.  In the 2001 mid-term elections, there were 
reportedly 111 deaths in 269 incidents.  Officials have predicted 
that the violence will subside within a week. 
 
------------------- 
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) President Arroyo on April 30 called on the military to 
reinforce the police in stopping the violence and "move forcefully 
against those using threats or intimidation for partisan politics." 
The President also called on security officials to identify and 
dismantle all "private armies," often associated with local 
political leaders.  Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon, at the 
behest of COMELEC, ordered the immediate deployment of troops in 
areas of concern and the installation of more checkpoints 
nationwide.  A total of 115,000 policemen and 20,000 members of the 
Philippine army were deployed to "hotspots" to curb the violence. 
 
¶7.  (U)  PNP Chief Oscar Calderon directed police commanders at all 
levels to adopt pro-active measures, such as increased police 
visibility and round-the-clock checkpoints, especially in "critical" 
areas.  PNP claimed to have confiscated 1,820 firearms, 182 
explosives, and more than 302 deadly weapons have since the start of 
the election period in January.  Police reportedly killed some 30 
suspects while arresting another 1,969 in the confiscation process. 
 
MANILA 00001613  002 OF 003 
 
 
PNP claimed also to have dismantled 52 of 90 "known private 
armies." 
 
¶8.  (U) President Arroyo also ordered the PNP, AFP, and the 
Department of Justice to "harness their investigative and legal 
resources" in addressing election-related violence as well as other 
unlawful killings, utilizing the assistance from foreign partners as 
possible.  The President also urged prompt filing of cases against 
perpetrators. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
SOME CASE STUDIES DURING CAMPAIGNING . . . 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (U) The earliest known incident occurred on December 16, when 
Abra Congressman Luis Bersamin was gunned down in front of a church 
in Manila after attending a wedding.  Abra Governor Vicente Valera, 
expected to vie for Bersamin's seat, was implicated in the killing 
but denied involvement.  Two weeks later, in Tapaz town, Capiz 
Province, Vice Mayor Victor Gardose, Gardose's bodyguard, and a 
village chief were fatally shot while about to attend a religious 
festival event.  Gardose had announced his intention to seek the 
town mayoral seat. 
 
¶10.  (U) A mayoral candidate from Datu Paglas town, North Cotabato 
Province, his wife, and bodyguard were injured while his driver was 
killed in an ambush while en route to a nearby town in Sultan 
Kudarat on March 15. 
 
¶11.  (U) On April 27 in Nueva Ecija, a shootout between security 
guards for Congressman Rodolfo Antonino, who was running for 
reelection, and police detailed to protect challenger Antonio 
Esquivel left Esquivel and one other dead, along with 12 wounded at 
an election rally.  Esquivel's death prompted the deployment of 
1,000 troops in the province.  Shortly before the incident, the 
Court of Appeals had ordered Esquivel's arrest for the killing of a 
village chief in 1994.  (Note:  The province, a traditional election 
hotspot, has been under the control of the Joson political dynasty 
for five decades.  Two Joson family members were convicted for 
murdering a political rival in 1995 but obtained presidential 
pardons and are back in power.  End Note.) 
 
¶12.  (U) On April 28 in Pangasinan Province, San Carlos City Mayor 
Julian Resuello was shot dead by two men who posed as his supporters 
as he made his way through a crowd.  A suspect is now in police 
custody.  Resuello and his son, currently vice mayor, had planned to 
switch seats.  A younger son took over the mayoral candidacy. 
 
¶13.  (U) At a political rally on April 29 in General Nakar town, 
Quezon Province, a political leader was shot after introducing the 
incumbent mayor to the crowd.  The incident happened hours after 
five people were killed, including two campaign supporters of a 
mayoral candidate, in a shootout in a cockfighting arena in Sariaya 
town of the same province. 
 
¶14.  (U) On May 2, a mayoral candidate in Santa Fe town in Cebu 
Province was gunned down in front of the COMELEC office after 
attending a disqualification hearing. 
 
¶15.  (U) On May 4, in Abra Province -- another traditional election 
hotspot -- six relatives of Congressional candidate and outgoing 
Lagayan town mayor Cecilia Luna were killed and three other 
seriously wounded when her vehicle was attacked.  Luna, who was not 
in the car, blamed incumbent Governor Valera for the killings.  On 
the same day, a shootout occurred between troops in civilian clothes 
and bodyguards of Bocaue town (Bulacan Province) mayoral aspirant 
Jon-jon Villanueva, son of prominent evangelist leader "Brother 
Eddie."  The shootout, which left one soldier dead, erupted when 
Villanueva's bodyguards accosted the soldiers for tearing down 
opposition campaign posters. 
 
¶16.  (U) On May 10, a fifteen-man police contingent assigned to 
Mindoro Occidental Governor Josephine Sato was ambushed by alleged 
communist rebels in San Jose town.  They were securing the road in 
preparation for the governor's campaign sortie when a landmine 
exploded and about 30 suspected NPA members opened fire.  The attack 
left five policemen dead and six others wounded.  (Note:  Sato has 
declared a "total war" against the insurgency and survived two 
attempts against her life in 2004.  End Note.)  On the same day, in 
Compostela Valley Province, a gubernatorial candidate was shot dead 
and his daughter wounded by men who came to his house to distribute 
campaign leaflets. 
 
------------------------- 
. . . AND ON ELECTION DAY 
------------------------- 
 
¶17.  (U) In what Education Secretary Jesli Lapus condemned as a 
"wretched act," arson at a school serving as a polling precinct in 
 
MANILA 00001613  003 OF 003 
 
 
remote Taysan town, Batangas Province killed two people and injured 
at least five others.  The police suspected the New People's Army of 
an effort to disrupt the elections; others have speculated that the 
intent was to destroy ballot boxes unfavorable to a certain 
candidate. 
 
¶18.  (U) In Pio Corpuz town, Masbate Province, unidentified gunmen 
killed two campaign leaders for a mayoral candidate before the polls 
opened.  In another Masbate town, a mayoral candidate's brother was 
killed while serving as poll watcher.  In Abra Province, a village 
chairman was shot dead before dawn in Bucay town, but his alleged 
killer was arrested shortly after the killing.  In Negros 
Occidental, a political supporter of a mayoral candidate was killed 
in front of his home upon returning from a meeting. 
 
¶19.  (U) In Mindanao, an alleged "flying voter" was killed and 
another wounded in Marawi City.  He was among 70 reportedly brought 
from neighboring Iligan City to vote under fictitious names for a 
certain candidate in exchange for P1,000 (21 USD).  In Basilan, 
armed men fired at a polling center, killing the nephews of Sumisip 
mayor Hajarun Jamiri, who was in the precinct to cast his vote. 
 
¶20.  (U) A day after the elections, some 100 suspected communist 
rebels attacked and killed eight soldiers based in Manabo town in 
Abra Province.  The soldiers were deployed to the area as route 
security for the transfer of election results from polling precincts 
to the town center for the canvassing process.  On May 16, 
unidentified gunmen killed a mayoral candidate and his son in Malita 
town, Davao del Sur.  Prior to his death, the son had complained to 
local media about the dirty tactics employed by his father's 
opponent.  On the same day, a winning incumbent councilor in 
Polomolok town, South Cotabato, was shot at close range while 
manning his store, and remains in critical condition. 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/ 
 
KENNEY