The police and the military vowed on Tuesday to work together and collaborate in their operations, especially against private armed groups (PAGs), in order to ensure the success of next year’s elections.
The leadership of the National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces (AFP) met for the national level meeting of the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Committee (JPSCC), where they draw joint security measures for the midterm elections next year.
“The same collaborative framework shall apply to joint police and military operation to proactively respond to the policy directions of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to ensure peaceful, orderly and fair 2019 midterm elections next year,” the PNP and the AFP said in a joint statement.
“As deputized agencies of the Comelec [Commission on Elections], the AFP and PNP shall take frontline initiatives to carry out aggressive operations against loose firearms and gun-for-hire groups, some of which are known to double as private armed groups during elections,” they added.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. said the two agencies will use their collaborative experience in past elections in order to ensure that next year’s polls will be both honest and peaceful.
“We had a lot of good experience wherein we had peaceful and honest elections, including the recent barangay and SK [Sangguniang Kabataan] elections. First time that none has declared a failure of elections, and it was one of the most peaceful because we were able to refine good coordination,” Galvez told reporters.
The chief of staff said the principal threat to the success of the midterm elections is the existence of PAGs and gun-for-hire syndicates, and this is the reason they will allow security escorts for candidates, especially those who have been identified as possible targets based on their security assessments.
These candidates are from the province of Abra and in Mindanao region, Galvez said.
“We will assign securities to candidates, especially in critical areas, in election watch list areas,” said PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde. “But this should not be the reason for them to carry ballot boxes or campaign paraphernalia. Only election officers are allowed to carry those.”
Albayalde said the AFP plays a very vital role in the success of the elections, especially in conflict areas like in some parts of Mindanao, by addressing security concerns.
“But when it comes to the maintenance of peace and order, especially in the local [level], it’s the PNP,” the PNP chief said.
Albayalde and Galvez said that, aside from coordination and collaboration on election-related duties, the JPSCC will also direct joint operations on internal security, anticriminality and counterterrorism.
“Under this joint security framework, the military and police organizations seek to establish greater interoperability in our continuing operations to address security concerns within our respective areas of concern, including all other major national events where we join hands in support of national government initiatives,” the PNP and the AFP said in the joint statement.
“This excellent collaboration has recently resulted to the arrest of five high-ranking communist terrorists and two high-ranking Maute terrorists. We expect this collaboration to bear much fruit as we address other security challenges in the future,” it said.