ILOILO – A politico in northern Iloilo is beefing up an armed group for the 2019 midterm elections, according to the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO). Four mercenaries from Masbate were recently hired to further boost the group, said Senior Superintendent Marlon Tayaba, police provincial director.
He declined to identify the politician but Tayaba said a trusted aide of this politician did the hiring in Masbate.
“We are getting information from the community about these guns-for-hire,” said Tayaba.
The goons likely entered northern Iloilo via the fish port in the municipality of Estancia.
The 5th District is made up of the municipalities of Ajuy, Balasan, Barotac Viejo, Batad, Carles, Concepcion, Estancia, Lemery, San Dionisio, San Rafael, and Sara.
The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) acknowledged the peace and order problems in the district such as the presence of private armed groups, illegal drugs and criminal gangs as early as last year.
To counter the problems, it stepped up the campaign against loose firearms.
There were an estimated 77,000 loose firearms in Western Visayas and 18,000 of these were in the possession of criminals such as guns-for-hire, according to Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, regional police director.
Many of these gun owners were politicians and businessmen, he added, and they were from northern and central Iloilo province.
Bulalacao expressed concern that loose guns may be used during the 2019 midterm elections.
“We came up with the number based on intelligence reports. These criminal gangs and guns for-hire are our top priority,” said Bulalacao.
Thus on Oct. 17 13 simultaneous predawn police raids against loose firearms were held in four 5th District towns – Sara, Estancia, Lemery, and Banate. The massive police operation involved 300 policemen.
Bulalacao said the campaign against loose firearms would intensify as the May 13, 2019 midterm elections draw near.
“We will run after private armed groups and criminal gangs being used by politicians,” he stressed.
According to the police director, he received information that some politicians preferred tapping the services of private armed groups.
Meanwhile, IPPO’s Tayaba confirmed having deployed additional policemen to Sara after the Oct. 17 raid on the house of former mayor Neptali Salcedo and several others.
Checkpoints were also set up, he added.
“We received information that a group was planning to disrupt the peace and order in the area,” said Tayaba.
He did not identify the group.
In July Tayba said three gun-for-hire groups regrouped and they could be working for politicians. One group was based in the 1st District in southern Iloilo while the two others were in northern Iloilo, with one of these operating in the 3rd District, he said.
Tayaba, however, declined to identify the gun-for-hire groups for fear of scuttling the police’s surveillance operations./PN
