BY RHENJIE MARIE CALANTAS & RUBY SILUBRICO
ILOILO City – Five elected officials from Iloilo province and one from Negros Occidental have security threats. Four are mayors and two are vice mayors, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
The threat assessment was conducted by police station commanders.
The Regional Intelligence Division (RID) of the PRO-6 will conduct a validation, said Police Brigadier General Leo Francisco, PRO-6 director.
He did not identify the six elected officials.
The Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be informed of the validated threats for appropriate action.
For the time being, “I have instructed my unit commanders to closely monitor elected government officials in their respective areas of responsibility and preempt any untoward incident,” said Francisco.
“I urge our elected officials, please report any threat or danger to your live so the PNP can protect you the best way we can,” he added.
According to Francisco, he has authority “na bigyan ng security anybody na merong valid threat or security nightmare. Pag may threat ka at na-validate namin ito, I can give two security personnel.”
If considerable protection is needed, Francisco said “PSPG ang magbibigay sa kanya ng ganoong klaseng seguridad.”
The threats on the five elected officials from Iloilo province were not imminent, said Police Major Rolando Araño, spokesperson of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office.
But the police are keeping an eye on the officials, he stressed.
Security measures for elected officials were made tighter after the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and eight other civilians in Pamplona town on March 4.
Last week, officials of the PNP and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) met with officials of the Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines, League of Governors, and the League of Mayors to discuss security measures for elected officials.
More security personnel will be deployed for politicians with “validated” threats, according to Police Brigadier General Matthew Baccay, head of the PNP’s Directorate for Personnel and Records Management.
Baccay also told the House Committee on Public Order and Safety that the PNP is eyeing what it calls “security package” to local officials facing threats. He said the detail for elected politicians is limited to two personnel./PN