No more private armies in N. Ecija - PNP

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines  – The Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday there are no more private armed groups (PAGs) that can threaten the holding of an honest, orderly and peaceful elections in this province next year.

Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban, acting provincial police director, said the latest validation of the PNP showed that no single PAG identified with politicians is operating in the province.

Lukban said the validation was completed two weeks ago with the help of the Philippine Army and the intelligence community.

President Aquino earlier ordered the PNP to step up its efforts to dismantle PAGs to ensure the holding of orderly and peaceful mid-term elections next year.

The PNP is updating its list of PAGs in compliance with the directive of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome.

Records show that 28 PAGs had been dismantled with 106 suspects arrested. Eighty-six groups remain active.

Nueva Ecija has been traditionally tagged as an election “hot spot” because of alleged warlordism and heated political rivalries, which led to the death of 100 politicians and their armed supporters.

In 2009, the Department of National Defense said there were at least 132 PAGs connected to political clans in the country. These PAGs – composed of some 10,000 men – were reportedly used to intimidate their political rivals in past elections.

Gov. Aurelio Umali had called on the Commission on Elections to remove the province from its list of its so-called election hot spots, saying election-related violence was considerably reduced in the 2007 and 2010 local polls.

Senior Superintendent Oscar Albayalde, chief of the regional intelligence division of the PNP Regional Office 3, however, said up to two PAGs have been monitored to be still operating in the province, part of the total of six PAGs in the entire region.