CATBALOGAN CITY—As the start of the campaign period for the May 13 elections draws near, the Philippine National Police in Eastern Visayas is pursuing the remaining members of two partisan/private armed groups (PAGs) in hotspot Samar to ensure a “secured and fair elections.”
“Our main goal in this campaign is to make sure that it is really the sovereign will of the people that are reflected in the election results and not due to fear, violence and intimidation,” said Chief Superintendent Elmer R. Soria, Eastern Visayas police director.
The PNP defines PAG as a group of two or more persons being used by a certain politician or individual to sow fear or intimidation, possessing legal or illegal firearms to advance political interest.
In Samar, police identified the remaining PAGs as the Moloboco group and the Montealto group. The groups are allegedly funded by members of political clans in power. The province is among the 15 priority election watchlist areas of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
As early as last September, the PNP began moving to dismantle the two PAGs. (read more . . . )
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