Police efforts vs. private armies, loose firearms ongoing —Eleazar

PNP chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar on Friday assured the public that their force has been keeping its efforts up against private armed groups PAGs), and loose firearms as Eleksyon 2022 draws nearer.

At a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Eleazar said concerned agencies have been conducting intelligence monitoring.

“Continuing yung ating program against private armed groups, itong loose firearms natin. At kahit malayo pa ang eleksyon ginagawa na antin yan,” he said.

(Our program against PAGs and loose firearms is continuing. We are implementing this even ahead of the elections.)

Aside from the template of actions for the elections, he pointed out that commanders are implementing different tact in their local areas with their own peculiarities to address possible problems.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Eleazar also hinted at the possibility of employing a different approach in coming up with measures during the election campaign and during the election period. 

In June 2019, PNP recorded a total of 60 election-related violent incidents connection with the May 2019 midterm polls.

This number was much lower compared to the 133 incidents reported during the 2016 national polls.

Eleazar said, the over 50% decrease in the total number of violent incidents was attributed by the PNP to the early preparation of the police organization. —LBG, GMA News