Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. (Facebook)

Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. is prodding the the Philippine National Police (PNP) to increase visibility and patrol efforts in Pampanga to avert incidents of violence, whether these are related to the upcoming May 2025 elections or not.

“We wish our communities to be peaceful and violence-free. We don’t want any further harm on any of our local officials and constituents.

 We have already lost six of them, including three barangay captains in San Fernando City, to assassins,” Gonzales said in a statement Saturday, Jan. 4.

Gonzales, the House of Representatives' senior deputy speaker, made the appeal a day after he reported to PNP Chief General Rommel Marbil the death threat received by Barangay Captain Amando Santos of San Agustin, San Fernando City, which is part of his district. 

San Fernando City is Pampanga’s capital.

Marbil informed Gonzales that Col. Jay Dimaandal, PNP Provincial Director for Pampanga, personally interviewed Barangay Captain Santos about the death threat the latter received on a piece paper sealed in an envelope together with the barangay officer’s crossed-out picture. A mobile phone number was also written on the paper.

The PNP chief said Santos “attempted to contact and engage the provided cellphone number, but to no avail as it was offline".

“As a result, the incident was recorded in the blotter of both the barangay and the police station of San Fernando City, Pampanga. Furthermore, tracking of the location and possible identification of the owner of the cellphone number is ongoing,” Marbil said.

He said the local police is also reviewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footages in the area.

At the same time, the PNP chief directed the San Fernando City police station to “intensify one-on-one security” for officials in their jurisdiction “to preempt any untoward incidents".

Gonzales thanked the PNP chief for immediately taking action.

The House leader said lawless elements continue to make threats of violence in his province despite the high-profile investigation launched recently by the House of Representatives' Committee on Public Order and Safety on six unsolved killings in his district.

“Maybe, this is because these senseless killings, which happened between April 30, 2022 and Nov. 12 last year, have remained unsolved and the suspects are still at large. We in the House will continue to look into these cases,” he said.

Gonzales has vowed justice for the victims and their families. He urged his constituents to report to the police any information they have on these cases and on any threat of violence in their barangays.