Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde on Monday ordered his lieutenants to neutralize gun-for-hire syndicates in the aftermath of the recent assassination of three local officials.
In a press briefing, Albayalde also ordered the more police checkpoints set up to find and confiscate loose firearms.
He said the increased security operations would tie in with a possible upsurge in violence as the 2019 mid-term elections approach.
“This is all part of our preventive measures. These are all part of our target hardening measures to prevent possible hostilities or violence in view of the forthcoming mid-term elections next year,” Albayalde said.
The killing of three local officials has caused alarm among local chief executives, with the League of Municipality calling for added security for mayors and vice mayors, a call Albayalde rejected.
“We have to be concerned with these killings. We can’t just let this happen to our elected officials,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Earlier, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, a watchdog group allied with President Rodrigo Duterte, had called for a crackdown on gun-for-hire groups.
Last week, assassins killed Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili; Gen. Tinio Mayor Ferdinand Bote; and Trece Martirez, Cavite Vice Mayor Alexander Lubigan, in three separate attacks.
“We will intensify our campaign against these guns for hire,” Albayalde said, adding that he would also dismantle private armed groups identified with politicians.
“As of this time, we are looking into at least 78 groups nationwide and most of these groups are in Mindanao,” Albayalde said.
Meanwhile, authorities said they would question Mayor Melandres de Sagun of Trece Martires in connection with the killing of Vice Mayor Alexander Lubigan.
In a radio interview, Senior Supt. William Segun, Cavite provincial director, said they have sent a letter to Interior Department officer-in-charge Eduardo Año requesting De Sagun’s appearance.
The mayor was out of the country when Lubigan was killed.
Reports indicated the two were not on good terms, particularly after Lubigan declared his intention to run for mayor.
Segun said they had CCTV footage showing two suspects inside a black Hilux (not a Montero as earlier reported) firing at Lubigan’s Fortuner vehicle.
Crime scene investigators said the empty shells found were from two different rifles, Segun said.
Other CCTV footage showed the vehicle fleeing in the direction of Maragondon, Cavite.
The Palace on Monday remained firm in its belief that the successive deaths of local executives were not systematic.
“The killings were not related with each other,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque. “The one who got killed was an ally, the other was on the narco-list. And as for the vice mayor of Trece Martires, I do not know yet whether he’s in the narco-list or not.”
But the opposition believes the series of killings aimed to create a climate of lawlessness to justify the declaration of nationwide martial law.
Roque dismissed the suggestion.
“That doesn’t make any sense. We all know that in the Constitution, there are only two bases for a declaration of martial law—one is the invasion and the other is rebellion,” he said.
“We should refrain from listening to political rumors because we all know the elections are near,” he added.
Malacañang had previously declared last Wednesday that there was no culture of impunity and vowed to accord justice to the affected families of slain government officials.
The Justice department, meanwhile, said investigators have failed to establish a connection among the killing of Halili, Bote and Lubigan.
“Initial findings of the NBI show that the incidents seem to be unrelated,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a text message.
The DoJ chief earlier tapped the NBI to check if the three killings showed any pattern and sought immediate results from the bureau.
Guevarra said he wanted the bureau to specifically determine if the three cases could be part of a destabilization plot against the Duterte administration.
The probe yielded negative results, however.
These preliminary findings of NBI seemed to support the PNP findings.
Police had said that Halili’s murder could be related to illegal drugs while the killings of Bote and Lubigan might have been politically motivated.
Halili was shot dead while leading a flag-raising ceremony on July 2, while Bote was killed while inside his vehicle on the following day. Lubigan was gunned down in front of a Korean hospital Saturday afternoon.
The President’s allies in the Senate allayed fears that the spate of killings could be used as an excuse for martial law.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said it was wrong to immediately see the President’s hand in anything that happens.
He also said he doubted the President would declare martial law.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, PDP- Laban president, said the martial law was “impossible,” and said talk of it was the result of political intrigues.
“We are not like that and the President isn’t like that. Don’t believe in that analysis,” he said.
He said such killings didn’t just happen under Duterte’s watch.
Also on Monday, the PNP said Halili’s own men were in charge of his close-in security when he was shot last week.
Speaking to newsmen in Camp Crame, Police Regional Office Calabarzon acting director Chief Supt. Edward Carranza said an armed Mayor’s Anti-Crime Group had been formed by Halili’s office.
The MACG took over the duties of guarding the mayor shortly after the National Police Commission withdrew Halili’s supervisory powers over the police.
This personnel, Carranza said, were armed with registered pistols bought by city hall.
Video footage of the incident at the Tanauan City Hall grounds last week show that subsequent shots were fired after Halili slumped to the ground from a sniper’s shot to the chest during the flag raising ceremonies.
Carranza said they recovered spent bullet casings for .45 and .38 caliber pistols from the site. With PNA