By ANTONIO M. MANAYTAY
MindaNews
ISABELA CITY, Basilan.—For the first time in years, this island province will experience elections without the charismatic Islamic preacher-turned-politican Wahab Akbar, and people are waiting to see whether the dynasty he left behind will survive his death.
Akbar was a three-term governor who became congressman in 2007, the same year that two of his wives were elected governor of Basilan and mayor of this city and seven other relatives were voted to various positions on the island.
In November 2007, Akbar was killed when a bomb exploded near a vehicle he was in at the House of Representatives.
“This is the first election in the province without Wahab Akbar,” said a businessman here who asked not to be named. “What makes this election interesting is that we want to see if the Akbars can still hold on to power without Wahab.”
Wahab, who once took up arms against the government, was rumored to be a supporter of the bandit group Abu Sayaff. Under Akbar’s watch, the group made Basilan its base, giving the province the notoriety of being the country’s capital of crime and violence. Wahab himself was believed to maintain a private army.
Reputation of violence
But Basilan’s reputation of violence persists during elections, with or without Akbar and the Abu Sayyaf. On April 13, three separate bomb blasts rocked this city, killing at least 15 and wounding 14 others in what authorities considered the deadliest election violence in the province so far.
“Historically, the province is prone to election-related violence due to the presence of armed groups and intense political rivalry,” said provincial election supervisor Wilfred Daraug.
“There are already many election-related violent incidents happening now, especially in the far-flung towns,” the provincial poll chief said. But these incidents are no longer reported, he added.
The April 13 bombings, however, are different in terms of intensity and number of casualties. And once again, authorities are blaming these on the political rivalries involving the Akbars and their opponents.
The first blast happened inside a van in front of the Basilan National High School in Barangay Eastside, this city, at about 10:30 a.m. Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, Basilan provincial police director, said responding policemen and Marines were fired upon by around 15 enemy snipers. Three Marines were killed and one was wounded.
Thirty minutes later, a second explosion occurred in front of Sta. Isabel Cathedral where 13 people were injured. The bomb was placed on a parked motorcycle, destroying 10 other motorcycles, six four-wheel vehicles and a tricycle. The second attack left the cathedral, including the priests’ living quarters, severely damaged.
The third explosion occurred near the house of Judge Leo Jay Principe of the Basilan Regional Trial Court 1. Principe had issued warrants of arrest for some 130 Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front members for the killing of 14 Marines, 10 of whom were beheaded, in 2007.
Hataman’s hand?
A few days after the bombings, police investigations zeroed in on the possible involvement of gubernatorial candidate Mujiv Hataman.
Hataman, however, dismissed the allegations as “pure dirty politics.”
“Who was the coddler of the Abu Sayyaf?” he asked.
The late congressman Akbar was alleged to have co-founded the Abu Sayyaf together with Khadafi Janjalani in the 1980s, an allegation that seemed to cause Akbar misgivings and regrets.
During his first and only privilege speech as a congressman, Akbar said, “Mr. Speaker, when I joined politics, there were accusations that I was the founder of the bulls–t Abu Sayyaf. Nung buhay pa sila, problema ko na, hanggang sa patay na sila problema ko pa rin (When they were alive, they were my problem. They’re dead but they remain my problem).”
Mendoza said they have been investigating Hataman but “there are other angles that we are looking into aside from him.” Police, he said, are validating information that another local politician is the owner of the vehicle used by the suspects.
Hataman is challenging Akbar’s first wife and incumbent governor Jum Akbar. Hataman, for three terms party-list congressman of the Anak Mindanao (AMIN) party, is the leader of an emerging bloc of politicians in Basilan.
Other Hataman family members as well as party-mates are also seeking elective posts now in the hands of the Akbars.
Hataman’s brother Hadjiman Sabbihin is gunning for the province’s lone congressional district against Rajam Mujamad Akbar.
Hataman urged other politicians to stop accusing each other. “Let the police do its job and give them our trust and confidence,” he said.
But others think it’s not going to be that easy. Sumisip Mayor Haber Asarul believes the attacks were “politically motivated aimed at hurting the Akbars and putting them in a bad light.”
“If the police want to solve the incidents, they have only to think what kind of bombs were used,” he said.
The kind of bombs used in April 13 explosions and those in the Batasan Pambansa blast that killed the late congressman Akbar were of the same make. “Ito’y pulitika (This is politics),” Asarul said.
Defining moment
Religious leaders believe that the April 13 incident was “a defining moment” for the country’s first automated elections.
Monsignor Elmer Abacahin, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines’ Office on Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC), said how government responds to the Basilan incident will define the outcome of the elections.
For Dedeth Suacito, executive director of Nagdilaab Foundation Inc. (NFI), the April 13 bombings shattered hopes for peaceful elections, signified by the covenant for an honest, orderly, peaceful election that almost all candidates signed March 6.
Even Governor Akbar and rival candidate Hataman came to the covenant signing led by the Commission on Elections in this city’s Claret School gymnasium.
In the covenant, a pro-forma oath prepared by the Comelec, the candidates pledged not to buy votes and not to impose their will upon voters by way of force or violence, threat or intimidation.
The candidates also pledged to “conduct (their) campaign by the law and rules in the spirit of good grace and friendly rivalry.”
NFI, a nongovernment organization, is part of a multi-stakeholders group led by the provincial PPCRV mobilized to help ensure a peaceful political exercise. The NFI is also conducting a series of voters’ education trainings in the province teaching voters how to prepare and cast their ballots using the Precinct Count Optical System machines.
Mendoza was even optimistic the peace covenant will help reduce the probability of poll violence and fraud.
“With the covenant in place, the candidates will think twice before violating any of the pledges they made,” he said after the signing.
How to avoid bloodshed
But after the bombings, Mendoza said, “We are even increasing and beefing up our security preparations.” A total of 100 Marine commandos and 220 policemen have reportedly sealed off this city since the attack.
Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad, provincial chair of the PPCRV, has asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to put Basilan under martial rule to prevent further bloodshed.
The bishop, known to be vocal against the apparent ineffectiveness of the police and military in solving the Basilan problem, said the situation is beyond what local police can do.
“The attacks only point to the need for the imposition of martial law in the province,” Jumoad said. He made a similar call last December after the beheading of one kidnap victim by Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Similarly, Anak Mindanao party-list group called on the government to “flex its muscles” in Basilan.
“We ask the government to be prudent in handling the Basilan attacks and show it is still in control so as not to let the attacks degenerate into more bloodshed which will ultimately exacerbate the hardships of an already suffering people there,” AMIN Rep. Ariel Hernandez said.
But security officials have recommended placing the island-province under a state of emergency.
The situation does not yet warrant a declaration of martial rule, said Milo Ibrado, director general of the National Security Council. Ibrado added that a declaration of a state of emergency will give the police and military more flexibility in running after the bandits and securing the province ahead of the May 10 polls.
Provincial election supervisor Daraug said a proposal to place Basilan under Comelec control “has been studied extensively” by the Comelec office in Manila, but no decision has been made.
An area under Comelec control will give the poll body through an assigned commissioner the power to decide on election-related matters. However, administrative matters remain in the hands of local officials.
The provincial poll chief said he was “in favor of placing the entire province under Comelec control to prevent further bloodshed.”
In 2007, Comelec declared the failure of elections in Akbar and Sumisip towns where poll-related violence was rampant and “uncontrollable.” The province has 11 towns and one city, Lamitan, all of which are part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Isabela City is not part of ARMM but was once a town of Basilan.