PRO-8 orders all PAG men in Samar arrested

CALBAYOG CITY, Philippines –  "Get them all.” This was what Chief Superintendent Asher Dolina had ordered the Regional Special Operations Task Group to do in arresting all members of private armed groups in Samar.

Dolina, regional director of the Police Regional Office-8, told Senior Superintendent Isaiah Tonog, head of the RSOTG, to dismantle all PAGs in the province and bring its members to court.

"I said we (the police) are determined to make the real essence of peace in Samar, as the filing of certificates of candidacy had started. We have to protect the 2016 elections and make it a credible and honest exercise without any political violence,” added Dolina.

Mayor Ronald Aquino of Calbayog and Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan Delos Santos, meanwhile denied rumors they were supporting and maintaining PAGs, which were behind the political violence in the province that resulted in the deaths of 187 politicians and supporters from 2013 to this day.

A total of 59 political leaders, including two minors, were already killed over the past several months this year, police records showed.

Aquino said Sonny Regulacion, who was among those massacred allegedly by the Managaysay PAG, was his political leader in Barangay Victory, but the mayor said he was opting for peace that is sacred for Calbayognons.

In a news conference, Delos Santos categorically said her leadership never used armed men to terrorize voters during elections. "We need peace in Samar, in my heart, in my deed... i am committing my support to stop political violence in Samar," the governor added.

The governor and 13 out of 23 mayors in Samar recently signed the peace covenant, with the military and the police, committing themselves to stop political violence and the existence of PAGs.

Among the signatories of the peace pact were Mayors Eufemia Oliva of Gandara town, Melissa dela Cruz (Matuguinao), Edgar Tan (Pagsanghan), Mario Quijano (Pinabacdao), Nancy Grey (San Jorge), Joven Chiu (Sta, Rita), Lilia Conejos (Sto, Niño), Francisco Langi (Motiong), Yolanda Tan (Paranas), Gemma Soza (Sta. Margarita), Antero Gaviola (San Sebastian), Vicente Limpiado (Tagapul-an), and Danilo Tan (Tarangnan).