Estancia mayoralty bet first to ask for police security
Because of the alleged threat on his life, a mayorable in the northern town of Iloilo asked for police security before the Police Regional Office (PRO) VI yesterday.
PNP Regional Director Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas confirmed that Rene Cordero, former mayor and now mayoralty candidate of Estancia town, requested for personnel security.
Cordero is the first politician in Western Visayas to ask for security before Cuevas relative to the 2010 elections.
“According to him, there are threats on his life. So, I told him that we have procedures to be followed before a police escort will be provided,” Cuevas explained.
First, the person asking for security must signify his intention, for which Cordero already did.
“Then, I told him that incidents wherein the alleged threat happened must be properly documented. Those who have witnessed the threat should sign an affidavit, which must also be properly notarized so that they will also be held accountable for what they testify,” Cuevas explained.
The proper documents, he added, will be used as bases in the conduct of threat assessment.
“Once they complied with the needed papers, we would conduct threat assessment,” he added. “If there is basis, for the moment, we could give them a temporary security. One is good enough. After that, when election period shall have started, we would course through their concern to the joint security committee.”
The joint security committee is composed of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Once the giving of security will be approved, the provincial police director will be instructed to provide the personnel needed.
Meanwhile, Cuevas said that Cordero is yet to reveal who allegedly threatened him.
He added that he could not validate if the reported threat is direct or an indirect one.
“Once it is already documented, that’s the time that we are going to find out if that is a direct threat or an indirect one because kung threat man lang nga telephone call, we could not say that that is a threat. Anybody could just do that. That’s why, I want it documented or place in a document like affidavit,” he added.
Despite such report, Cuevas said that it is not enough that Estancia should be considered as an election area of concern or “hotspot.”
As the election nears, though, the PRO-6 said that they would do everything to make that area a non-election area of concern.
Cordero is running against incumbent Mayor Restituto Mosqueda a retired PNP general.
