Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned communist militants against taking advantage of the 2019 midterm elections to raise funds through extortion.
“Do not meddle in the elections and extort from candidates because this will make finding a solution to your grievances more difficult. Do not terrorise,” Duterte said in a speech during a convention of the regional political party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), in Lanang, Davao City.
Filipinos will be taking to the polls against in May 2019 to elect their next set of 12 senators, nearly 300 members of the House of Representatives as well as hundreds of governors, mayors, provincial board members and councillors.
During the election period, communist insurgents usually take advantage by demanding money from candidates in exchange for protection from harassment.
Sometimes, the private guards provided for the politicians come from the ranks of the communist New Peoples’ Army.
It is also during this period when attacks by communist insurgents are most frequent.
The president assured Filipinos that the 2019 polls would be a “clean” elections.
“In this election, I commit to the Filipino people that this will be a clean election,” he said.
Duterte also said that in a bid to address election violence, he will impose the “Alunan Doctrine,” which limits the number of armed guards for every politician.
“In the next few months, I will impose the Alunan doctrine. You cannot carry long firearms during the election,” he said.
In the late 1990s during the administration of President Fidel Ramos, the Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III dismantled so-called “private armies” funded by politicians in an effort to curb election-related violence.
Under the Alunan doctrine, politicians are not allowed to have more than two armed guards during elections.
According to Duterte, the prohibition on politicians providing long firearms to their guards will be implemented nationwide.
Close in security for the candidates can only carry pistols.
With regards to the military, they are barred from joining any partisan political activity.
Elections in the Philippines are usually accompanied by violence.
It is early days yet, but a number of politicians have already fallen to assassins’ bullets in the ongoing campaign season.
Party and clan-based politics play a major role in the country.
