Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima looked forward to peaceful elections in May despite reports of private armed groups still operating in various parts of the country.
Another suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre was arrested by soldiers in a chance encounter with armed men in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Saturday, the military reported on Monday.
Over 40,000 licensed gun owners are in danger of getting blacklisted for giving wrong home address, the chief of the Philippine National Police official said Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who described himself as a “favorite whipping boy” of some people, wants members of the Senate to be included in the list of those who should be allowed to possess and carry licensed firearms.
Director General Alan Purisima of the Philippine National Police on Sunday ordered the police “to farm out and knock on doors of houses” to determine the status of over half a million firearms, which were not submitted for licensing renewal by their owners.
Some 55 members of the Naga City police force will be sent to Masbate as the Philippine National Police (PNP) regional command organizes a task force to go after private armed groups (PAGS) in the island-province as part of the preparations for the elections in May next year.
Four Abra mayors surrendered their firearms on Saturday after the latest round of negotiations with the police, which was part of a strategy initiated by civic groups that vowed to remove the province from the list of election hot spots in next year’s elections.
For a case that captured the attention of the world, the trial of the accused in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre has taken on too long and has become a symptom of impunity in the Philippines, militant groups said when asked to reflect on the third year anniversary of the slaughter.
Two men, including an alleged leader of a partisan armed group, operating in Abra and nearby Cordillera provinces, were arrested Sunday evening in Pasig City.
The Philippine National Police is looking into over 50 private armed groups (PAGS) operating nationwide as part of its preparations for the upcoming midterm elections next year, its spokesman said Monday.
Placing Davao del Sur under the control of the Commission on Elections for the entire election period next year would be useless unless the military or the police dismantled politicians’ private armies, the province’s governor said here Thursday.
Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas on Wednesday warned politicians that their political affiliations or connections would not protect them from the government campaign to crack down on private armed groups in the interest of holding violence-free elections in 2013.
Mindanao-based nongovernment organizations are calling on President Aquino to revoke an executive order issued by his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, that the groups said allowed private armies to thrive especially in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
