PNP monitoring 48 active, potential private armed groups ahead of 2023 brgy, SK polls

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it is monitoring three active private armed groups (PAGs) and 45 potential PAGs ahead of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) scheduled in October.

“The PNP is also continuously monitoring the activities of three active private armed groups and 45 potential PAGs that may mobilize for the 2023 barangay and SK elections in October,” PNP chief Police General Benjamin Acorda Jr. said in a statement.

PNP public information office chief Brigadier General Redrico Maranan said authorities are eyeing intelligence-driven law enforcement operations against PAGs like arrest and seizure of firearms.

“Kung sa pagtaya ng ating mga ground commander ay kailangan magkaroon ng search warrant operations para makuha natin 'yung iligal na armas sa kanilang pag-iingat,” he told reporters in an interview.

(It depends on the discretion of ground commanders if they think they need a search warrant to seize the illegal firearms of PAGs.)

“Kung sila naman ay may warrant of arrest, 'yung mga members ng PAGs na 'yan, ay huhulihin natin 'yan [If the PAG members have warrant of arrest, we will would capture them],” he added.

Maranan said the PNP will also intensify its operations against illegal firearms during the election period.

According to Maranan, PAGs may be used by “unscrupulous individuals” in connection with the upcoming elections.

“Sisiguruhin natin sa susunod na eleksyon ay magiging tahimik at mapayapa [We will ensure that the next elections would be peaceful],” he said.

Earlier, the Commission on Elections (Comelec), through its spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco, said they are now 100% ready for the 2023 BSKE on October 30.

Laudiangco said almost 92 million ballots to be used for the elections have already been printed as of May 10.

The BSKE has been repeatedly postponed since 2016. In October 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the law moving the December 2022 BSKE to the last Monday of October 2023. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA Integrated News