Manila's Arroyo mobilises army to end poll violence

MANILA, Apr 30 (Reuters) Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called out the army today to help police check rising violence ahead of elections on May 14 as two more men, including a mayor, were killed.

Arroyo also ordered the setting up of checkpoints across the country to crack down on political warlords with private armies.

''I am calling on the armed forces to reinforce the police to stop election violence and move forcefully against those using force and intimidation for partisan ends,'' Arroyo said in a statement.

''I strongly urge candidates of all parties and persuasions to keep tensions at bay and not to test or defy the authorities.'' The president said she wanted troops deployed in about a dozen areas where political violence was likely to erupt during the election period.

Oscar Calderon, national police chief, said the political violence had ''picked up at a very alarming rate'', and ordered his field commanders to take measures to prevent further killings.

''We need more serious and effective police visibility, more vigorous enforcement of the gun ban and a crackdown on bodyguards and private armies to curb the rising tide of violence,'' Calderon said today.

About 45 million Filipinos are expected to cast their ballots on May 14 to fill 18,000 positions in national and local governments.

In the latest violence, two people were killed and five wounded in San Carlos City in Pangasinan province on Saturday. The dead included the city mayor.

Last week, four men died and two dozen were wounded when rival political groups clashed in a rice-growing town in Nueva Ecija province north of Manila.

More than 30 people have been killed in nearly 90 incidents of election-related violence since the start of the campaign in February.

Over 140 people were killed in election violence in the 2004 presidential race, one of the deadliest since dictator Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown in 1986.

REUTERS SZ ND0938