PNP goes on nationwide full alert Wednesday

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will place its forces nationwide on full alert starting Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming May 10 elections. Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman, said all 130,000 police personnel will be required to be on duty, with all leaves considered canceled. "All our personnel will be deployed in various capacities for this election, foremost among which is the deployment to security assistance desks (SADs) to the more than 36,000 voting cenetrs nationwide," Espina told GMANews.TV in a text message. Espina said these SADS will be manned both by policemen and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), as part of the government's Regional Joint Security Control Center (RJSCC) — activated last January to address election related security issues. The SADs will be placed 50 meters away from voting precincts. Espina said the PNP is pouring in their security efforts more on areas of concern by placing additional personnel and logistics. According to the PNP, election-related violence is generally more rampant at the local level compared to the national level. These areas of concern include Abra, Masbate, La Union, Iloilo, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Eastern Samar, and North Cotabato, as well as the Surigao and Lanao provinces. One of the major security concerns that had been repeatedly raised is the continued operation of private armed groups believed to be controlled by local politicians. The government has already formed the Zeñarosa Commission tasked to oversee efforts to dismantle private armed groups in the Philippines. The gruesome killing of 57 people, including journalists and lawyers, in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao last November 23 is blamed on the powerful Ampatuan clan and its private armed group. As of late March, a total of 67 private army members have already been arrested by the PNP, according to Verzosa. This led to the confiscation of 82 firearms. Police records show that there are 112 private armed groups composed of 4,040 members operating in the country. Twenty of these operate are in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). — Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMANews.TV