PNP places over 7,000 villages under watchlist

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) is monitoring the situation in at least 7,060 villages under its watchlist for possible breakout of violence in the run-up to the Oct. 28 barangay polls due to intense political rivalry and the presence of threat groups.

Director Cipriano Querol, chief of the PNP Directorate for Intelligence, said these villages, which comprise 16.08 percent of the 42,028 barangays nationwide, are in Masbate, Compostela Valley, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Central Mindanao (Region 10) and the Bicol region (Region 5).

“Of the 7,060 barangays under the watchlist, 156 are areas of immediate concern and 6,904 areas of concern. The areas were assessed based on the existence of intense political rivalry and the presence of threat groups,” Querol said.

In Nueva Vizcaya, authorities have identified as areas of concern at least 15 villages in the towns of Bayombong, the capital, Aritao, Ambaguio, Dupax del Sur, Kayapa and Kasibu.

In neighboring Isabela province, police have tagged the towns of San Guillermo and Angadanan as areas of concern following the recent killings of two barangay heads.

From Sept. 28 to Oct. 10, Querol said there were seven violent incidents where three village chiefs were killed and three others were wounded.

Deputy Director General Felipe Rojas, national chief of the Secure and Fair Elections-Alpha, said the PNP has mapped up security plans to prevent violence from erupting.

“Part of our security preparations is to divide the different activities before, during and after the elections,” Rojas said.

Rojas said the PNP has put up checkpoints, intensified “Oplan Katok,” applied search warrants for those suspected of having private armies, and have been on the lookout for loose and unlicensed firearms.

Querol said the PNP has monitored at least 25 suspected private armies in the ARMM, Ilocos region and the Cordilleras. In the last May midterm polls, 55 private armies were on the PNP watchlist.

Meanwhile, in Eastern Visayas, at least 23 civilians have been arrested and charged for violating the election gun ban. – With Charlie Lagasca, Ricky Bautista