PNP fears resurgence of private armies

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police is bracing for the resurgence of private armed groups as next year’s mid-term election draws near.

In a command conference in Mindanao earlier this week, PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome ordered top police officials to break up new mercenary groups working for politicians planning to run in the 2013 elections.

Bartolome also ordered his commanders to renew efforts to reduce the size of private armed groups currently identified.

“We expect that there will be new private armed groups and that’s what we’re going to monitor before it can even happen,” he told reporters in Camp Crame on Friday.

He said mercenary groups “usually hibernate for several months and when the election period is already there, they become active.”

“After the conduct of elections, they disband and become members of criminal groups,” Bartolome said.

He said the list of private armed groups and suspected members that was submitted to him by his regional commanders did not match with the reports in the national headquarters.

“The number of private armed groups reported by the regions is slightly higher,” he said without elaborating.

“Actually the names in the list are the same ones as in the past. Whenever there is a scheduled election they always come up. What I would like them to do is if there are new groups that will come up. That’s what we’re going to watch out for,” Bartolome continued.

He said he would keep tab on their progress on a monthly or even weekly basis by checking how many members of private armed groups have been neutralized.

“My instruction is not just to report private armed groups and the number of members. I gave some instructions to reduce it. If there are 75 members, after say a month that should be reduced. Some members should be accounted by our security personnel,” Bartolome said.

He did not say how many private armed groups there are at present, saying most of them are “seasonal” in nature.

He said most are based in Mindanao particularly in Region 10 and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as well as in Abra and Masbate.

The national mid-term elections are scheduled to be held in May next year.

Bartolome also instructed regional commanders especially those detailed at the ARMM, Abra, and Masbate to strictly monitor all known armed groups in these areas and prevent a flare-up of violence in the coming elections.