PNP forms special task forces on private armies

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has formed special task forces for each of the 117 private armed groups identified by the presidential task force against private armies.

Commissioner Herman Basbaño, spokesman of the seven-member Zeñarosa Commission, said “urgent action plans” against private armed groups are being finalized by the PNP for implementation.

“Just like candidates and political parties, we too are in a race against time because the private armed groups, by their nature and intentions, are principally election accessories and are very disruptive ones,” Basbaño said.

President Arroyo created the commission, headed by retired justice Monina Arevalo Zeñarosa, last Dec. 8 in the aftermath of the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao in November last year.

Other members of the panel include Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Mahmod Adilao of the Ulama League of the Philippines, retired Army general Jaime Echeverria, Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, and retired police director Virtus Gil.

Basbaño said the panel has been holding daily meetings and consultations to coordinate its action plan with law enforcement agencies, including the military, the prosecution arm of government and anti-crime groups and non-governmental organizations.

He said the PNP has provided the panel its list of private armed groups in all the regions in the country with members running close to 5,000, some of them armed with high-powered weapons.

The PNP said the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which includes Maguindanao province, accounts for 25 private armed groups.

Basbaño said each armed group operates separately from the other, owing loyalty only to the person or group that formed it, and constitute a significant threat to peace and order, especially during the elections.

While a number of them have already been neutralized, the PNP said some remnants have lied low, waiting for possible election engagements.

Retired general Edilberto Adan, a permanent adviser to the commission, said the body would press for the detailed inventory of these armed groups to enable the panel to determine group profiles, membership, and capability.

Adan said it is not remote that some armed groups could be employing not only private bodyguards of politicians, but also retired, inactive, and even policemen and soldiers still in active service.

Jimenez, for his part, called on the PNP to update its list of private armed groups, whose numbers he said are increasing with barely three months before Election Day.

Jimenez said the number of private armed groups in January were only 68 and increased to 117 in just a couple of weeks.

Jimenez said the number is expected to increase as the election draws near.

According to Jimenez, a number of newly discovered armed groups operate in the areas of Northern Luzon, the Bicol region, and Iloilo provinces.

Jimenez also warned of the possibility of private armies sprouting in Metro Manila as the May elections approach.     – With Michael Punongbayan