'Less poll threat from private armies'

MANILA, Philippines - There would be less threat coming from private armies to disrupt the nationwide elections on Monday, an independent commission said yesterday.

Commissioner Herman Basbano, spokesman of the Zeñarosa Commission, said the panel is beginning to wrap up its work since its creation last December in the aftermath of the Maguindanao massacre and has submitted its recommendations to President Arroyo on Wednesday.

The panel is headed by retired Justice Monina Arevalo-Zeñarosa with representatives from various sectors as members.

Basbano said that based on latest reports from the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police (PNP) there are only 72 private armies remaining. Thirty-five of the private armies were dismantled with 130 members arrested and 127 firearms confiscated.

An additional 81 firearms were surrendered to authorities following joint efforts of the Zeñarosa Commission, the Armed Forces and the PNP to convince some personalities to disband their private armies.

“The problem is not that grave because with the creation of the commission, many of these private armies have been stifled, many of their wings have been clipped,” Basbano said in a news briefing.

He said the panel was able to coordinate all efforts to dismantle private armies into one integrated campaign and was able to thwart election-related violent incidents.

“Compared to the previous records, election-related violence is much lower this year, which I think, I would like to believe is a result of the cooperation of the PNP, Armed Forces, Commission on Elections, and the Independent Commission against Private Armies,” Basbano said.

He, however, said there is still a possibility that some private armies may attempt to strike to achieve the objectives of their political benefactors.

“We always know that during election time, there are people who would always try to use private armies. But we are strongly warning them not to exploit whatever problems that would crop up during the day of elections,” he said.

Basbano said the PNP and the Armed Forces have put up a dedicated task group for each of the private armies identified.

Basbano said the commission is set to expire on June 30 but the next administration should extend its life even with new members, as the effort to dismantle private armies is a long-term effort.

He said that while the commission has submitted its recommendations to the President, its members continue to work and are deployed in various possible election hot spots to gather information.

“We might come up with supplemental recommendations before the end of our term,” he said.

One of the recommendations of the commission is the enactment of an Anti-Private Armies Act and the passage of a law that imposes stiffer penalties on illegal possession of firearms as well as the enactment of the long-pending anti-dynasty bill.

“We also have discovered that in many instances, families of officials who are having their espouses, children, and grandchildren run for elective positions are forced to tap the private armies in order to perpetuate themselves in power,” Basbano said.

Another major recommendation of the Zeñarosa Commission is the removal of the local executives’ power to choose local police chiefs so they cannot influence these PNP officials while they are doing their functions, he said.

The panel also pushed for the integration of all the provincial, city and municipal jails under a proposed Bureau of Correctional Service.

“This is the name that we are also suggesting. We are doing this because, as of now, each of these jails is being run by their respective local government units and there were problems that we found out in the process of our investigation that many or some of these provincial jail officials are being tapped by some elected officials in pursuit of their political interests,” Basbano said.

He said the independent body is also recommending the disbandment of some armed community defense forces that are not needed anymore.

“As you know, many of the cases where private armies have been involved are sourcing their manpower from some of these paramilitary forces. So the recommendation, if these are not needed in some of the areas in the country, they should be disbanded,” he said.

Those paramilitary groups that have to be retained should be closely monitored by the authorities, he said.