BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon
It is no wonder why the Philippine National Police has a hard time trying to dismantle private armies in Northern and Central Luzon as cops and Army personnel have been working for the heads, mostly politicians of these dangerous groups.
Director Roberto Rosales, head of the Directorate for Integrated Police Office Northern Luzon himself admitted this to media. According to him, the days of these erring these lawmen who are supposed to uphold the law, are numbered and they will be relieved from their posts.
“Once we establish and have validated reports that they are working as private armies of politicians, we will relieve and reassign them in far-flung areas of the country,” he said. The DIPO Northern Luzon is reportedly in the thick of their campaign to dismantle private armies in its jurisdiction in a 60-day period.
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Rosales created the Joint Special Intelligence and Coordinating Center composed of intelligence units of the police, Army, National Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement units to take pictures, or video footages and armaments of the suspects. Once the list is completed, Rosales said they would validate it with their counterparts in two weeks.
He added they are targeting police and Army personnel amid reports that some are working for the furtherance of the ambitions of politicians. Politicians were allowed two policemen or Army bodyguards and two civilian counterparts in the duration of the last May elections.
At present, a politician is allowed only a policeman or Army bodyguard and a civilian counterpart but they must be always in proper uniform. Rosales will conduct inspections of the DIPO Northern Luzon satellite offices this week to learn firsthand their problems, especially the progress of their ongoing campaign against private armies.
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Police and Army units in central and northern Luzon are reportedly now intensifying checkpoint operations to permanently dismantle private armies of politicians. Rosales said a Joint Special Intelligence Coordinating Center will identify and neutralize private armies in their area of jurisdiction.
Rosales said they would dismantle four private armies in Abra as a test case.
Rosales and Senior Supt. Elmer Soria, Task Force Abra commander, recently met at Camp Crame in Manila to draw up their strategy in dismantling the private armies in Abra, the country’s third poorest.
“Once our strategy in Abra is successful, we will implement this in other areas of DIPO Northern Luzon where the presence of private armies is reported,” Rosales said.
The DIPO Northern Luzon, according to Rosales, will open lines of communication with politicians and residents for them to report the presence of private armies in their localities. He said he would also tap local Army units in the campaign against private armies.
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If the strategy to eradicate private armies works out, maybe a task force could be created to go against jueteng? But then, basing from lame and indirect pronouncements of top officials of this new administration, it would still be happy days for the jueteng mafia composed of the lords, revisadores, kubradores and their protectors in government and yes, even the media. You see, if the top honcho says, “STOP IT,” then it could be done.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, then the PNP chief some years ago did it and the jueteng network crumbled. After he left the top PNP post, the rats in the underground jueteng industry silently crept and gnawed at the hard-earned money of constituents of the this Banana Country particularly the poor.
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Now the rats are back and living it up like they did during the past administration. They even wear coat and tie or barongs, occupy powerful government positions, drive in flashy cars, live in mansions and have the prettiest mistresses. They don’t wang-wang, no more, but then, that is only a little minus from their perks.
Even that big, black cross-country vehicle which always bullies its way accompanied by motorcycle-riding cops when it plies the La-Trinidad-Baguio route isn’t so aggressive and arrogant anymore. You could ask any disgruntled cop who the VIP in the car is.
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