Guns and bombs the military recovered after a clash in a village of Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao. - Supplied
MANILA: Only one private armed group (PAG) remains in Central Luzon ahead of the 2025 national and local elections, according to Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3).
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla previously told the Central Luzon regional police to crack down on PAGs because of the polls next May.
“Now, we only have one private armed group remaining, and we’re focusing on it. In the coming days, hopefully, it will be neutralized,” said PRO3 Director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan.
He gave the information to reporters in an interview at Camp Crame on Tuesday (Jan 7).
“We are also complying with the mandate [of our Secretary of the Interior and Local Government] to dismantle all criminal gangs and private armed groups,” Maranan noted. “In fact, in Region 3, this last quarter of 2024, we dismantled five criminal gangs.”
Maranan said PRO3 was particularly focused on Nueva Ecija, deploying 200 additional personnel to secure the province.
Furthermore, according to the Central Luzon top cop, the regional police recommended 12 municipalities in Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Bulacan, and Pampanga to be declared areas of concern by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The PRO3 director did not provide a breakdown of the places endorsed to be tagged under this label.
“We know that Central Luzon has intense political rivalries. There have been violent incidents that have happened in the past elections. That’s why now, we’re focusing on those places,” Maranan explained.
“For the areas we recommended for further monitoring, we’ve added the resources that are there, including personnel and our logistical resources,” he continued.
PRO3 confiscated 1,346 guns through checkpoint operations and served 266 search warrants from Oct to Dec 2024 as part of its efforts against loose firearms leading up to the election.
He also reported that the regional police already reassigned cops who are relatives of candidates, although he did not specify how many law enforcers were transferred to other posts.
“We at PRO3 have placed 24/7 checkpoints. We’ve planned where to set up the Comelec checkpoints,” Maranan said.
The election period begins on Sunday, January 12. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
