(UPDATE) AN election official on Saturday escaped death after his vehicle was fired at by motorcycle-riding men in Zamboanga City, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Chairman George Erwin Garcia said Vidzfar Amil, 51, provincial election supervisor of Sulu, survived the ambush, but his elder brother Naser Amil, 57, was killed.
According to reports, Amil, who was in the front seat of the black Toyota Fortuner, was hit in the head by one of the three bullets that were fired at the vehicle.
The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. in Sitio Villa Sta. Maria, Barangay Sta. Maria.
Julie said they were traveling home from the Zamboanga International Airport when two men on a motorcycle pulled alongside their vehicle and opened fire.
“I know I am the target of the gunmen,” Julie said in an interview, suggesting that the attack might be related to his work.
Julie, who had just arrived from Jolo, was driving the vehicle with Asiri in the passenger seat.
Asiri had fetched him from the airport.
Garcia condemned the incident. “No words are enough to condemn this treacherous act of violence against our people; what is more gruesome and unforgivable is when a love is caught in the crossfire, so to speak,” he said.
“We are not yet prepared to cry hopelessness, but a call for immediate action from authorities is strongly demanded,” Garcia said.
The Comelec said it was too early to tell if the incident was related to the national elections next year.
Garcia said Comelec’s authority over poll-related matters will only start 120 days before election day on May 12.
Before that, “Comelec is inutile and powerless,” he said.
A gun ban will be in effect during the election season.
Candidates are also prohibited from having a security detail or bodyguards unless authorized in writing by the Comelec.
Garcia said an area could be put under Comelec control if it had a history of election-related violence or if the rivalry among contending parties was intense.
The violence could be instigated by Private Armed Groups (PAGs), communist rebels, or Islamist extremists like the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFFs), Abu Sayyaf and the Maute Group.
During the 2022 elections, Zamboanga City was among the areas in Region 9 listed by the Philippine National Police as a hotspot because of a serious threat to security from terrorist groups.
Garcia said the Comelec expects about 500,000 candidates to vie for 18,280 national and local positions in next year’s elections.
To be contested are 12 slots for senators, 254 district representatives, 63 party-list groups, 82 governors, 82 vice governors, 800 provincial council members, 149 city mayors, 149 city vice mayors, 1,682 city council members, 1,493 municipal mayors, 1,493 municipal vice mayors, and 11,948 municipal council members.
ADDITIONAL REPORT FROM THE PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY
