|
By Anthony Vargas, Reporter
THE military on Wednesday ordered
the pullout of troops from impoverished communities in Metro Manila
where they had been stationed for nearly seven months.
The Armed Forces chief of staff,
Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., said the withdrawal of the troops was
meant to dismiss speculations that the soldiers would be used to
coerce people into voting for candidates, particularly those of the
administration.
Esperon also announced the
assigning of troops to three provinces and a city that the
Commission on Elections had identified as poll hot spots.
He gave the National Capital
Regional Command chief, Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, until Friday to
withdraw the troops in Metro Manila.
The military chief made the
announcement during the turnover of a day-care center built by the
soldiers to officials and residents of Barangay Upper Nawasa in
Commonwealth, Quezon City.
The troops had also built public
toilets and conducted humanitarian missions.
The military started stationing
26 ten-man teams in 19 communities in Tondo, Manila, Caloocan City
and Quezon City in November.
The deployment was part of the
new strategy to deny communist rebels sanctuary in Metro Manila,
military officials explained.
Leftist militant groups denounced
the presence of soldiers in the communities, accusing them of
harassing their supporters and campaigning against left leaning
party-list groups.
Last Monday, the leftist
organization Bayan Muna went before the Supreme Court to compel the
military to pull out its troops in the metropolis. The group argued
that the soldiers encroached on functions of local government units.
Esperon said troops would be
stationed in the provinces of Abra, Nueva Ecija and Masbate and San
Carlos City in Pangasinan, where election-related violence has
intensified.
He said the deployment of troops
in those places has been approved by the Comelec.
An Army battalion was sent to
each of the three provinces and a small team of soldiers to San
Carlos.
Esperon said the military forces
will be placed on nationwide alert for four days starting Thursday
to ensure that soldiers could be easily mobilized once the police
asks for help in maintaining order during the elections.
The military will abide by an
existing agreement between the Comelec and the defense department
signed in October which limits the military’s role in the midterm
polls to containing and responding to “serious armed threats,”
he said.
“There are two instances by
which the AFP would be deployed. One is if there is a serious threat
and it has happened in Abra, Nueva Ecija, Masbate and Sulu,”
Esperon said.
The AFP chief added that troops
could also be deployed for the implementation of gun ban and setting
up of checkpoints in problem areas as determined by the Comelec.
Despite of troop deployment,
violence continues to plague Nueva Ecija after two supporters of
candidates were killed in separate attacks Tuesday in the towns of
Quezon and San Isidro.
As of Tuesday, 98 people have
been reported killed and 92 others were injured in over a hundred
election-related violent incidents since the election season opened
on January 14.
|
