Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. urged Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil to boost police presence in the province in the wake of the latest threat of violence particularly in his constituency.
Gonzales made the appeal a day after reporting to Marbil the death threat received by Barangay Captain Amando Santos of San Agustin, San Fernando City, the province’s capital, which is part of his district.
The House leader thanked the PNP chief for immediately taking action. However, he urged Marbil to increase police visibility and patrols in his district and other parts of Pampanga and augment local police forces to avert the possibility of violence, whether related to the forthcoming May 2025 elections or not.
On Friday, Marbil informed Gonzales that Col. Jay Dimaandal, PNP Provincial Director for Pampanga, personally interviewed Barangay Captain Santos about the death threat the latter received on a piece of paper sealed in an envelope together with the barangay officer’s crossed-out picture. A mobile phone number was also written on the paper.
The PNP chief said Santos “attempted to contact and engage the provided cellphone number, but to no avail as it was offline.” “As a result, the incident was recorded in the blotter of both the barangay and the police station of San Fernando City, Pampanga. Furthermore, tracking of the location and possible identification of the owner of the cellphone number is ongoing,” Marbil said.
At the same time, the PNP chief directed the San Fernando City police station to “intensify one-on-one security” for officials in their jurisdiction “to preempt any untoward incidents.”