Private Armies down to 43 – PNP

The number of partisan armed groups in the country has gone down significantly, from 91 to 43, leading the Philippine National Police (PNP) to conclude that the elections in May will be generally peaceful and orderly.

Deputy Director General Avelino Razon Jr., PNP deputy chief for administration, said that according to the Directorate for Intelligence, 52 of the 93 initially considered partisan armed groups in the country were already nonexistent.

"When we validated our initial records of 93 suspected partisan groups, we found out that only 41 exist. The PNP is now trying to neutralize these groups," Razon said.

Razon, who supervises Task Force HOPE (Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections), pointed out that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has the most number of armed groups, with 14 actively funded by local politicians while 12 were based in Cagayan Valley (Region 2). In the other regions, there is at least one armed group.

PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon reactivated Task Force HOPE to go after partisan armed groups and seize loose firearms to ensure honest and orderly elections in May.

The PNP said a partisan armed group is usually composed of three or more persons with legal or illegal firearms organized to commit criminal or oppressive acts for the advancement and protection of political or personal interests of politicians or private individuals.

The PNP reported that in 2004, there were at least 93 identified partisan armed groups under the payroll of politicians.

In Abra province alone, Task Force Abra identified five politicians, including Gov. Vicente Valera, who were maintaining armed groups. Other politicians suspected of maintaining private armies are former governor and La Paz mayor Andres Bernos, Tineg mayor Edwin Crisologo, former Bangued mayoralty candidate Dominic Valera and Lacub mayor Leo Barona.

The PNP said that of the 406,686 loose firearms in the country, 35,597 were in ARMM.

The security detail for all politicians and candidates is limited to only two persons except for those facing real and serious threats. Their bodyguards may be permitted to carry high-powered firearms if they can get a gun ban exemption from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The PNP has seized 610 guns and arrested 705 persons since the Comelec imposed the gun ban in preparation for the elections on May 14.