Army chief, Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., ordered all Army units, including the 3rd Infantry Division in Western Visayas, to dismantle private armed groups to ensure peaceful and orderly national polls in May.
“In order for us to achieve peaceful and orderly elections, let us look into the dismantling of private armed groups,” Brawner said in the first Army-wide command conference for 2022 at the Philippine Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio in Metro Manila, attended by Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, 3ID commanding general.
“Let me remind you of our two solemn duties in the coming elections: vote and ensure peaceful and orderly elections. We will not tolerate partisan politics and military adventurism,” Brawner stressed.
He also reminded politicians to avoid paying a “permit to campaign” to the CPP-NPA terrorists during the campaign period.
“We will closely partner with the Commission on Elections and other concerned agencies to provide an atmosphere of safety and security so that the people can vote freely, thus upholding the sanctity of the ballot,” Brawner said in a statement issued by the Philippine Army Public Affairs Office.
P/Brig. Gen. Flynn Dongbo, regional police director of Western Visayas, meanwhile, ordered the four newly-installed provincial police directors in the region to ensure peaceful and fair elections in their areas of jurisdiction.
Among those installed Jan. 10 was P/Col. Leo Pamittan as new provincial police director of Negros Occidental.
Dongbo, who presided over the change of command ceremonies for Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Antique, and Guimaras police provincial offices at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City, advised the newly-installed directors that their new assignments is another “opportunity not only to continue what they have started, but also to deliver more than what you have already accomplished”.
He added that he is confident that the four provincial police directors will ensure fair and peaceful elections in Region 6, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moises Padilla and Escalante City have been initially identified by Comelec as possible election areas of concern in Negros Occidental, due to election-related incidents in the 2019 polls, and the presence of New People’s Army in those areas.
But Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, earlier said that the inclusion of two LGUs, which he did not identify, as possible areas of concern will still be subjected to validation by the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center, which is composed of the Philippine Army, PNP, Philippine Coast Guard, and the Comelec. | GB
