MANILA, Philippines?The six men named by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to an independent commission to dismantle private armies are mandated to complete the job in four months, or before the national elections in May.

The time frame is clearly stated in Administrative Order No. 275, which spells out the commission?s main task?to address the existence of private armies ?with a view of dismantling them permanently.?

?This is a tall order,? Ms Arroyo?s spokesperson Gary Olivar conceded yesterday. ?The commissioners are expected to try their best to meet her orders to them.?

On Thursday afternoon, after much delay, the President named the members of the multisectoral commission in the face of rising political violence in the countryside.

They are Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Mahmod Mala Adilao of the Bishops-Ulama Conference, retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echeverria, retired Police Deputy Director General Virtus Gil, broadcaster Herman Basbano, and Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.

Ms Arroyo ordered the creation of the commission on Dec. 4, in the aftermath of the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao that has been blamed on the Ampatuan clan and its private army.

She directed law enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice to make it their top priority to eliminate private armies before the elections and prosecute leaders and members of these groups, respectively.

But how can the commission stamp out a problem that has been festering for decades in just four months?

Powers of probe body

Said Olivar: ?It?s a question of coordinating government resources and security forces to resolve once and for all this particular peace and order problem expeditiously while the President is still in office.?

The commission has broad powers. It can, among others, deputize the Armed Forces, the Philippine National Police, the DOJ and any other law enforcement agency to assist in its job, and call on any agency for assistance.

Being vested with the powers of an investigative body, it can summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony or evidence, and undertake procedures to produce relevant documents.

Not impressed

Former Comelec Chair Christian Monsod was not particularly impressed by the commission?s purported broad powers.

?From what I remember, it?s a recommendatory body. That?s not going to be very useful... If it?s a recommendatory body, I don?t know now if that?s a cheap grandstanding stunt, or a meaningful step toward addressing the problem of private armies,? Monsod had said.

Hot spots

The PNP has classified Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Samar, Masbate, Nueva Ecija and Abra as ?hot spots? because of the presence of private armies in these provinces.

It has no exact figure of private armies but estimates the number of loose firearms at 800,000 nationwide.

The PNP also has an existing group, Task Force HOPE, to go after ?partisan armed groups? and guns for hire in the run-up to the May elections.

PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa said by phone on Thursday that ?with the commission in place, we will know why private armies are formed, what?s their motivation, how they acquire firearms, and how they gather these dubious characters.?

Much awaited

The appointments to the commission had been much awaited, particularly in view of a rash of violent attacks on local leaders in the past week, or a little more than a month before the campaign season for the national elections kicks off.

Verzosa had earlier said ?it would be a good move to synchronize the creation of the commission with the efforts of the Commission on Elections, police and military? to neutralize partisan armed groups.?

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde had virtually admitted to a delay in the body?s composition, saying: ?We should have formed that already.?

Olivar had said the membership of the commission was still being finalized, and doused speculations that the delay was being caused by rejections of Malacañang?s invitation.

?The President is aware of the urgency of something like this, especially that we?re entering the campaign season. But we have to deal with the usual start-ups that we encounter in a new organizational initiative, especially as we are on official holiday,? he had said, adding:

?Let?s get through the holiday season, and let?s see what starts to happen next week.?

Probes ongoing

Also earlier, Deputy Executive Secretary Severo Catura said government action on killings blamed on private armies ?does not depend on the finalization of the commission.?

?While it?s being finalized, investigations are ongoing. We have the Task Force 211 under the Department of Justice, which is focused on political violence and politically motivated killings,? Catura told the Inquirer by phone.