The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) teamed up with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday, Feb. 7, as a final push to meet President Duterte's deadline and eliminate all threat groups, particularly the communist insurgents, and secure the May 9 elections.
Joint Letter Directive (JLD) No. 01-2022, which seeks to provide a joint legal cooperation between the three agencies to fight threat groups, was adopted by Gen. Andres Centino, AFP Chief of Staff; Gen. Dionardo Carlos, PNP Chief; and PCG Deputy Commandant for Operations Eduardo Fabricante.
The document was signed by the officials during the 2nd Commission on Elections (Comelec) command conference presided by Commissioner Socorro Inting, acting Comelec Chairperson, at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
According to Centino, the JLD aims to "enhance coordination among signatory agencies in building up cases, investigation of crimes perpetrated by, and successful prosecution of leaders, members, and supporters of threat groups and their financers."
Further, it also intends to "guide the identification and disposition of surrendered, recovered, and confiscated firearms following the chain of custody."
Centino, in his speech, mentioned the AFP’s marching orders from President Duterte, which is to finish-off the communist insurgency before the latter's term ends this June, and ensure the conduct of safe elections in May.
"We came up with a plan to have sufficient forces to perform these two tasks. We have designated units to go after the armed groups. We want these units' operations to go unhampered," Centino said.
Meanwhile, the soldiers, policemen, and coast guard personnel who will not be assigned for tactical offensives against the threat groups will be deployed in the election duty.
"We look forward to having a secure election. We would like to ensure that the process will be safeguarded, and that's the best thing that the AFP, PNP, and PCG can give to our country," Centino stated.
The JLD will be implemented under the tripartite mechanism of the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center, which is being co-chaired by the leaderships of the AFP, PNP, and PCG.