LAO: BASILAN ATTACKS COULD BE PRELUDE TO FAILURE OF ELECTIONS

Liberal Party senatorial candidate Yasmin Lao today called for sobriety amidst the worsening break down of peace and order in Mindanao, even as she warned renewed attacks in Basilan could be part of a sinister scheme to sabotage the May 10 elections in the southern region.

“Nanawagan po ako sa ating mga kababayan sa Mindanao, lalo na sa Basilan, na manatiling kalmado sa gitna ng sunod-sunod na pag-atake sa kanilang lugar. Tibayan po natin ang ating mga loob at panatilihin ang ating paniniwala na maititigil din natin ang karahasan (I am calling on the people of Mindanao, especially in Basilan, to stay calm amidst the series of attacks in the region. Let’s steel our resolve and keep our faith that we could find an end to the violence),” Lao said, a peace and civil society advocate and founder of the only institutional Muslim women NGO in the country, the Al-Mujadillah Development Foundation (AMDF).

Lao condemned the series of attacks on a Roman Catholic Church, a school grandstand and three other public places in Isabela City in Basilan as un-Islamic and urged the police to work double time to arrest the attackers and ensure the safety of the public

At the same time, Lao warned the attacks could be part of an organized plot to derail the elections because of proximity to the May 10 national and local polls.

She said that if similar attacks continue, Malacanang and Camp Aguinaldo could use it as a pretext to place the entire Mindanao or certain provinces under a state of emergency – or even worse, martial law – thus giving local officials and the military excessive powers that would allow them to control voters and the conduct of the elections on May 10.

“Laganap na laganap ang dayaan sa Mindanao tuwing eleksyon. Kung bibigyan ng karagdagang kapangyarihan ang kapulisan o ang local officials, mas madaling maipatutupad ng administrasyon ang masamang plano nitong muling nakawin sa taumbayan ang kanilang karapatang pagsilbihan ng kanilang piniling lider (Everybody knows that election cheating is a way of life in Mindanao. If the police and local officials would get extra powers, this Administration will find it easier to implement its plan to steal the elections),” Lao warned.

The Liberal Party had earlier warned of an orchestrated scheme to perpetrate massive fraud in the elections, citing alarming developments in the political front and numerous setbacks in the Comelec’s preparations for the polls.

04-15-2010