TAGUM CITY — A senator urged the government to implement a “National No Blackout Days” come May 9 elections so as not to deny people the right to vote and delay the canvassing of election returns.
On Saturday, May 7 Sen. Ralph Recto appeal came after a transmission tower in Lanao del Sur was bombed and toppled earlier this week which he claims the sixth incident to happen in Mindanao this year.
“A Mindanaoan is in the ballot for the presidency. It can still be a tight race. One region, one big city can make a difference on the final presidential and vice presidential vote tally, so you can just imagine the frustration of the Mindanaoans if they won’t be able to vote for their bets on May 9,” Recto said.
He claimed that power outages could be used to sabotage the election which will prevent people from voting. “The greater danger is that this can be used as an excuse for bad people to frustrate the will of the people on election day.”
Recto urged law enforcement groups to closely guard the “whole length of the power system from grids, towers to distribution, even transformers near schools.”
He also called on rebel groups, like the New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, on whose controlled territories pass transmission lines, “to guard and guarantee” that nothing bad happens to towers and all power facilities.
“Almost one in four voters is in Mindanao. It has twice as many voters as Metro Manila,” Recto pointed out.
“Darkness is the best breeding ground for all sorts of conspiracy theories. Evil hides in the dark. But if there’s light, if there’s electricity, all speculations, and even sabotage plans, stop. ” (davaotoday.com)
