School torched; two teachers die, 12 hurt

FIVE masked armed men torched two classrooms at the Pinagbayanan Elementary School in Taysan, Batangas, yesterday, killing two teachers and injuring 12 other poll watchers, police officials said.

Senior Supt. James Brillantes said the watchers had just finished counting the votes in two poll centers when the men arrived around 3 a.m. They then poured gasoline on the rooms and lit it, but the teachers refused to give up the ballot boxes.

Leticia Ramos and Nelly Banaag, both teachers in the same school, burned to death, he said.

The other poll watchers injured were Richelle Banaag, Rosalie Villena, Rodora Samaa, Michael Samar, Elisa Ramos, Henry Asi, Guiller Malaluan, Mayette Malaluan, Jovie Maderazo, Cesar Mendoza, Galileo Banag, and Michael Zara.

“We deployed some troops to that school, but the suspects arrived only a few minutes after my men left the area,” Brillantes said.

He said the attack was likely to have been the work of communist rebels or mayoral candidate Victor Portugal, who received only 28 votes in the two classrooms torched compared with the 1,800 votes received by Hernando Villena, his opponent.

“We monitored the presence of about 40 [communist] rebels in the area before the incident, and that was the reason we deployed troops there earlier, Brillantes said.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus condemned the attack and vowed financial assistance to those who were killed as a result of it.

“We will exhaust all measures to provide all the benefits due to the families that the teachers left behind,” he said.

The Commission on Elections also promised to help.

“The [two teachers] will receive from the Comelec P200,000 each,” Commissioner Florentino Tuazon Jr. said.

“You could say that they died protecting the ballots,” he said.

Meanwhile, troops were pursuing armed men who were aboard a helicopter in Masbate province when they fired on a pump boat carrying volunteer election watchers, killing two of them and injuring two others while seven remained missing. Romie A. Evangelista, Florante S. Solmerin, Roy Pelovello, Arlie Calalo

ManilaStandardToday