Ilocos police to beef up campaign versus hired guns

SAN FERNANDO, La Union, Philippines – The Philippine National Police will beef up its campaign against guns-for-hire in the Ilocos region to neutralize them before the 2010 elections.

“These (guns-for-hire) have been a primary concern of the Region 1 police in countering and neutralizing private armed groups, especially during elections. Just like what we did in Abra, we will strengthen our drive against them,” PNP chief Director General Jesus Versoza told The STAR here last Friday.

Last week, authorities tagged seven hired killers from Ilocos Sur and Abra in the killing of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agent Edward Gautani Sr. and his 16-year-old son Edward Jr. in Candon City.

Two guns-for-hire were also believed to be behind the murder of Dr. Ruel Navalta, chairman of the surgical department of the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center, here two weeks ago. 

Versoza said they would not allow these hired guns to regroup before the elections because some of them are on police watchlists while others have pending arrest warrants.

“We will prevent them from being used (by politicians) during the elections. We are already conducting manhunt operations against those who have warrants of arrest,” he said, adding that some hired killers are based in the Ilocos region and Abra, which is part of the Cordillera Administrative Region. 

Chief Superintendent Ramon Gatan, the new Ilocos regional police director, himself vowed to address the problem on shooting incidents perpetuated by guns-for-hire.  

“We will conduct an aggressive operation against guns-for-hire before the elections. We will neutralize these criminal elements,” Gatan said as he assumed his new post vice Chief Superintendent Luizo Ticman who was named chief of the Logistics Division at Camp Crame.

Gatan, a member of Philippine Military Academy’s Masikap Class 1977, said he would make it his priority to go after armed goons and guns-for-hire.

Gatan was the deputy for administration of the regional police at Camp Florendo and head of Task Force Bimmotobot, which investigated the shabu laboratory in Bimmotobot, Naguilian, La Union where a number of policemen led by Superintendent Dionicio Borromeo, former Dagupan City police chief, had been implicated.