Abra execs back drive against PAGs in time for SK, barangay polls

BANGUED, Abra – Provincial officials led by Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin vowed to fully support the “no-nonsense’ campaign of the Cordillera police against private armed groups in the province particularly with the coming barangay elections on Oct. 29.

Bersamin and the mayors of the 26 of Abra’s 27 towns promised not to employ PAGs and to make the coming barangay elections a “test case” of their efforts to make their province peaceful and orderly.

Only Dolores town Mayor Pascquing Guzman, brother-in-law of former governor Vicente Valera, did not show up at the recent second provincial peace and order meeting here at the provincial capitol.

In Camp Dangwa, Benguet, Chief Supt. Eguene Martin, Cordillera police director, recently told newsmen Bersamin, Rep. Cecille Luna and the 26 town mayors agreed to do away with the old practice of maintaining armed groups to intimidate and harass political rivals and their supporters.

Abra officials assured Martin they would not allow their respective barangay captains and their supporters to carry firearms during the campaign period for the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

The local executives wanted to erase the tag of Abra as the “killing fields” in the Cordillera region.

In the May elections, a number of political supporters were killed and police blamed the incidents on PAGs maintained by Abra politicians.

But Martin said they not taking the word of the local officials “hook, line and sinker.”

“We will always be on alert to thwart any type of violence, especially in the coming barangay elections,” he said.

Before the May elections, Martin, who then headed Task Force Abra, listed at least nine PAGs operating in Abra.

However, six of the PAGs were subsequently busted while the remaining three groups voluntarily disbanded after Bersamin topped the gubernatorial race.

Martin said it was agreed upon during the meeting with Abra officials that only unarmed escorts would accompany them while traveling.

In case of threats to their lives, the local officials were told to coordinate with Senior Supt. Alex Pumecha, Abra police director, and police would be assigned to secure them.

These policemen, however, would not be assigned permanently to the local officials so they would not be used for other purposes.

To show his full support for the Cordillera police, Tineg town Mayor Edwin Crisologo agreed to shoulder the construction of a P2.5-million police station in his municipality.

“The (policemen) in Tineg town are reporting for duty in Bangued town. But with the construction of the police station there, the town would have its own police force after so many years,” Martin said.

Upon orders from Camp Crame, Martin said he intended to deploy at least 20 policemen in Tineg town once the police station is put up.

He said there were also plans to augment police personnel in eight” high-risk’ municipalities in Abra.