Verzosa vows to sack cop executives not going after private armies

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa vowed yesterday to sack police officials who fail to implement the campaign against private armies.

Though expressing satisfaction over the initial number of private armies dismantled as well as the number of persons arrested and firearms confiscated, Verzosa said several police commands all over the country have yet to show their accomplishments.

Verzosa created Special Task Groups (STGs) to monitor and dismantle suspected private armies maintained by politicians to ensure honest, peaceful and orderly elections on May 10.

Verzosa warned police officials that if any election-related violence concerning private armies occurs in their jurisdiction, he would not hesitate to relieve them from their posts and file administrative charges against them if warranted.

He said 17 private armies have been dismantled so far with 50 people arrested and 65 assorted firearms confiscated since the STGs were formed.

Under the set-up, the STGs are placed under the supervision of intelligence officers of the municipal, city, provincial and regional police commands.

The regional intelligence officer and those from the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) are the ones determining whether the STGs are performing their assigned tasks or not.

The PNP listed 112 private armies maintained by politicians, 92 of them based in Regions 1 to 13.

The remaining 20 private armies, which the PNP described as the “most serious,” are in the provinces comprising the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“The ARMM has a unique situation when it comes to (private armies), necessitating special attention from concerned security forces – both from the police and the military,” a police official said.

The PNP said there are no private armies in Metro Manila and Regions 4-B and 10.

Verzosa earlier conceded that the number of private armies is expected to rise, citing the efforts of the PNP-Directorate for Intelligence (DI) to validate numerous reports on private armies.

“However, as we update our list with the inclusion of newly identified (private armies), it is only appropriate that neutralized or dismantled private armies as well as those deemed already inactive, be removed from the DI list,” he said.

Among the supposed private armies that have been neutralized were identified as the Balloguing, Peralta, Gamboa, Taruc, Valera, Luna, Sagun, Montehermoso, Reyes, Booc, Valenzuela, Sacate, Moloboco, Montealto, Tuazon, Acosta and Cajilla groups.

Three of these private armies were based in Regions 1, 4-A, 5 and 8, while there were two in the Cordillera Administrative Region, and 10 each in Regions 2, 9 and 10.

The latest to be dismantled by the PNP was an alleged private army in Calbayog City, whose suspected leader, Michael Terga, was killed. Police arrested 19 suspected members of the group and seized 40 assorted firearms.