THE country’s Chief Executive on Friday has urged the public to maintain peace and order in the upcoming 2022 national and local elections or else he will be forced to use military force should violence occur.
During his privilege speech before the inauguration of the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Hospital in the municipality of Isulan, President Rodrigo Duterte stressed that he wants to ensure that all polls across the country will be free from any destructive movement despite the disparity of principles among several political parties.
“Sa opisina ko, wala man tayong common ground, all leaders, political leaders and those participating in the elections, I plead for peace. Gusto ko sana na makita ang Maguindanao, ang Sultan Kudarat, and every province, Cotabato City, na walang gulo,” Duterte said.
The President clarified that his interest to have a peaceful election shall further be applied to the entire nation where people can freely vote for their candidates.
A fair election for Duterte also comes with certainty that no electoral cheating would be made to guarantee that all votes would be counted accurately.
“Nakikiusap ako. I’m pleading, almost praying, that people will really stick to the rule of law and avoid violence kasi kapag hindi, unahan ko na kayo, then I will be forced to use the might of the military. Not for any purpose but to see to it that the election is peaceful and violence-free,” the President, who is also the Commander in Chief of the country’s armed forces, expressed.
“Either we will have an election that is free or I will use the military to see that the election is free. The military is the guardian of our country and I could call them anytime to see to it that people are protected and elections [are] freely [and] orderly exercised,” he reiterated.
Data shows that violence and cheating which can be associated with political agenda or motives have long been considered as perennial problems in the country every election time.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has, in fact, reported that the total number of killings committed involving politics in 2018 increased by twice the amount logged during 2017.
It can, however, be noted that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has the authority to place any affected political division, subdivision, unit or area under immediate and direct control and supervision, should peace and order be disrupted.