Manila Bulletin
Philippines
National
PNP steps up monitoring vs 200 PAGs members ahead of October barangay polls
Philippines
National
PNP steps up monitoring vs 200 PAGs members ahead of October barangay polls
PNP steps up monitoring vs 200 PAGs members ahead of October barangay polls
Published Jun 5, 2023 07:12 am
Gen. Benjamin Acorda, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has ordered an intensified monitoring of around 200 members of private armed groups (PAGs) who could be tapped to sabotage and influence the results of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October this year.
Acorda said the 200 potential PAGs members came up during the intelligence-gathering based on the assessment and validation in the past local and national elections, adding that all of them are concentrated in six regions in the country.
“Ahead of the October election, PNP Units in six regions of the country are continuously monitoring the activities of three active private armed groups and 45 potential PAGs with an estimated more or less 200 members with almost 400 firearms that may be used for partisan activities in the 2023 barangay and SK elections,” said Acorda.
He earlier said that a number of the PAGs were monitored in Western Visayas region.
Acorda said the PNP is now focusing on law enforcement operations in order to ensure the peaceful conduct of the barangay and SK elections.
“Focused law enforcement operations were put on high gear to prepare and lay the groundwork for the safe and secure conduct of the 2023 Barangay and SK Elections in October,” said Acorda.
Aside from the PAGs, Acorda said they have also been monitoring the activities of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and criminal gangs: “Based on historical data, they are known to act as armed goons for politicians during elections.”
This is the reason, he said, why local police forces have been aggressively running after wanted persons across the country.
Citing PNP data, he said a total of 897 gang members belonging to 200 neutralized criminal gangs were arrested in 690 police-initiated operations in the first five months of this year.
Acorda said 10 other gang members died in the operations while 84 other gang members surrendered.
“These operations yielded 124 firearms from the gangs’ arsenal from January 1 to June 2, 2023,” said Acorda.