Palace wants private armies crushed before May polls

All private armies in the country will be dismantled on or before the May 10, elections, a Malacañang official said on Sunday. "Definitely," Press Secretary Cerge Remonde told Radyo ng Bayan when asked if President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is committed to crush all private armies before the May polls. Remonde also said the leader of the commission that would lead the fight against private armed groups would be named within the week. "Meron na kaming chairman, isa siyang retired justice ng Supreme Court pero nasa labas pa siya ng bansa at sinabi niya na mamaya na lang daw i-annnounce, pagka-uwi na niya sa Pilipinas, kaya nirespeto namin iyung request niya," he said. (The chairman of the commission is a retired Supreme Court justice who is currently out of the country. The announcement will be made when he/she returns to the country in accordance to his/her request.) Members of the commission are Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos representing the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP); Mahmod Mala Adilao, who represents the Bishop Ulama Conference; and Kapisanan ng mg Broadkaster ng Pilipinas president Herman Basbano, representing the media. Also named commissioners are retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echevarria of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers; retired police Deputy Director Virtus Gil; and Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC). The commission, created through Administrative Order No. 275 that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued last Dec. 8, 2009, stemmed from the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province last Nov. 23. The carnage - the victims of which included members of the rival Mangudadatu clan and 31 journalists - was allegedly perpetrated by the powerful Ampatuan clan and their private armies. Under the AO, the commission may tap the Department of Justice, Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Bureau of Investigations, and other government agencies including owned and controlled corporations if necessary to enable them to finish their work, which includes investigating, summoning witnesses, and taking testimonies and evidence that may be relevant to their probe. - KBK, GMANews.TV