- GILBERT BAYORAN
There are no private armed groups (PAGs) in Negros Occidental, a police official said.
Lt. Col. James Latayon, chief of the Provincial Operations Management Unit of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, said during a police and military security briefing at the Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City Friday, that they have not monitored any PAG in the province, with the synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections set on Oct. 30, in reply to the question of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.
“I really asked because it is the concern of the President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) to make sure that there are no private armies, especially with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE). The report was, there is none identified in Negros Occidental,” Lacson said.
The Philippine National Police has identified several regions, including Western Visayas, where authorities monitored active and potential private armed groups, ahead of the BSKE.
PNP chief, General Benjamin Acorda, has ordered Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor, newly installed Region 6 police director, to intensify efforts against PAGs to ensure that these groups will not be used in illegal activities in connection with the BSKE in October.
Acorda said that the PNP received reports that some elected government officials and potential candidates are facing security threats ahead of the polls. But he said the threat is not as high compared to previous elections./GB
