Naga City policemen sent to Masbate

NAGA CITY, Philippines —- 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.

The policemen left Monday for the PNP regional headquarters in Legazpi City prior to their assignment to Masbate.

Superintendent Ferdinand Raymundo, head of the regional police community relations office, said the members of the Naga City police force would be deployed for a still undetermined period at the regional command before going to Masbate.

He said the order of temporary assignment came from Chief Supt. Arne De Los Santos, Bicol-police director, who ordered last week the creation of Task Force Masbate, a special group assigned to secure Masbate, in view of its long history of violence during elections.

Naga City Mayor John Bongat was however unhappy with the reduction of the city’s police force, saying the reassignment of his city’s policemen was “insensitive” as the city needs all its policemen  for the Christmas holiday.

Bongat on Monday said he did not receive any official communication from the PNP regarding the temporary reassignment of Naga City police personnel to Masbate.

Raymundo said the number of police personnel left to maintain peace and order in Naga City was reduced to some 300 personnel.

Among the 15 election hot spots in the country, at least six PAGs were identified as operating in Masbate.

De Los Santos said the Task Force Masbate would be composed of 240 police personnel from different units of the regional command with the main task of going after the PAGs and recovering loose firearms in Masbate.

He estimated that 2,000 firearms in Masbate have not been documented. The police have also identified 38 members of two PAGs that belonged to the Arizobal and Villaruel groups, he added.