Cops hint at armed groups’ return after Abra clash

STANDOFF ENDS After a series of negotiations that started on Tuesday, the standoff between the camp of Pilar Vice Mayor Jaja Josefina Disono and the police in Abra province ends peacefully on Wednesday. Policemen document the licensed firearms turned over by the vice mayor’s 12 security aides, who are now undergoing investigation. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PNP CORDILLERA

BAGUIO CITY — The police in Abra province are taking a second look at old political rivalries in the run-up to the May 9 elections after 12 former soldiers hired to secure reelectionist Pilar Vice Mayor Jaja Josefina Disono were placed under police custody on Wednesday, an official said on Thursday.

The presence of former soldiers allegedly under Disono’s employ and the surrender of 14 licensed firearms, including a weapon registered under Disono’s name, may suggest that they are operating as a private armed group (PAG), said Police Maj. Edwin Sergio, spokesperson for the provincial police.

But the armed security aides would need to undergo “validation” as part of due process before an election oversight council could tag them as a PAG, Sergio said.

For example, the police would need to establish whether the security team had been tapped for election-related operations, he added.

Pilar, Lagayan, and the capital town of Bangued are among areas in Abra that have histories of political rivalries, Sergio said.

READ: PNP: No more private armed groups in Abra

A 2005 government fact-finding investigation showed that homicide cases were rising in Abra every election period. It also noted the emergence of PAGs, which included moonlighting soldiers and policemen.

In 2012, then Cordillera police director Benjamin Magalong trimmed the number of PAGs from 55 to 30, following an extensive crackdown on loose firearms conducted by the regional police.

In February this year, a Cordillera police audit of armed groups in the province concluded that all PAG operators had been dismantled or neutralized. That was the same situation a month later, said Police Lt. Col. Marcelo Polig, deputy chief of operations of the Cordillera police, during an election briefing on Monday.

But Polig stressed: “We cannot discount the possible resurgence of PAGs and guns for hire in the province of Abra. Although these groups are active only during the election period, their employment can adversely affect the conduct of free and honest elections.”

Fatality

A member of Disono’s security team, former soldier Sandee Boy Bermudo, died from bullet wounds following a brief gunbattle with Pilar policemen on Tuesday.

READ: Gunfight, car chase lead cops to Abra exec’s house

The gunfight occurred during a police chase when a van, supposedly carrying Disono’s security escorts, forced its way through an election checkpoint at the town center at 10:30 a.m.

The vehicle’s driver almost hit two police officers from the Cordillera Regional Mobile Force Battalion who tried to stop the van, which was reportedly trailing behind Disono’s vehicle. The vice mayor’s vehicle was allowed to pass through the checkpoint.

READ: Cops in ‘shootout’ with poll bet’s escorts in Abra town

The van proceeded to Disono’s house, where its passengers sought refuge. The compound was surrounded by policemen but Disono refused to leave her property and had appealed for help over social media, saying she was afraid for her life and that of her family’s.

The standoff eased a day later, on Wednesday, and the security team surrendered after Disono spoke with Gov. Jocelyn Bernos and Police Gen. Ronald Oliver Lee, Cordillera police chief.

READ: 12 security aides of Abra town vice mayor surrender after standoff with police

The Philippine National Police on Wednesday announced that it would file charges against Disono for her initial refusal to cooperate with authorities.

According to Sergio, Abra is under the supervision of a special operations task force, composed of police and military, which is investigating the incident.

Areas of concern

But a poll official said the March 29 shootout and standoff in Abra could be an “isolated incident.”

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Saidamen Pangarungan intends to go to Abra next week due to the incident, according to Commissioner George Garcia.

“We will go to Abra not because they are in the ‘red’ [category as an area of concern] but because we wanted to instill discipline and peace in the area, so that [the] Comelec will be in full control of the situation,” Garcia said in a press briefing on Thursday.

“Maybe it’s an isolated incident but we will not take that for granted,” he added.

Garcia said the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines had recommended around 300 areas around the country to be declared as “areas of concern” and placed under Comelec control during the election period.

“Definitely we are seeing serious areas of concern but Chairman [Pangarungan] wants to countercheck, countercheck, countercheck,” he said.

READ: Comelec to announce areas of election concern by March 31

Comelec field offices have disputed some of the recommendations of the PNP and the AFP since “the situation changes every day,” he said.

“[Pangarungan] deemed it necessary to, for the last time, order a reverification, not from the PNP or the AFP, but from our own field personnel. We want to be very, very careful because we do not want to hurt the regularity of the lives of the people in the area,” Garcia added.

During the election period, the Comelec may place areas with intense political rivalries under its direct control to suppress election-related violence.

The Comelec classifies election hot spots according to color codes: yellow for areas of concern, orange for areas of immediate concern, and red for areas of grave concern.

Once an area has been placed under its control, the Comelec may reshuffle or relieve policemen, order the Department of the Interior and Local Government to suppress threats of election violence, relieve any public officer or employee who commits election offenses, and direct the Department of Finance to comply with Comelec orders. —WITH A REPORT FROM DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN

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