House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales, Jr. appealed to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure that the May 2025 elections in Pampanga be fair and peaceful.
He made the plea in the course of the hearing by the House Committee on Public Order and Safety chaired by Rep. Dan Fernandez of Santa Rosa City in Laguna on at least six unsolved political killings in Pampanga’s third legislative district, which Gonzales represents.
“Hopefully, this coming election, the city of San Fernando and the entire province will be peaceful because Pampanga is the heart of Central Luzon,” Gonzales said partially in Tagalog. He urged the Comelec to ensure that poll exercises this May remain fair and violence-free.
“We just want a level playing field. Let’s let the people, our provinces, decide who should lead the province, the district, the city of San Fernando and the 21 towns of Pampanga,” he added.
Gonzales deferred to Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, former PNP spokesperson and the newly designated PNP Regional Director for Central Luzon, in implementing appropriate measures to secure peace and order.
In response, Fajardo said PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil “has committed all our manpower and logistical resources to the Comelec to ensure safe, secure and credible elections.”
“In areas of concern, the PNP chief has designated focal persons to defuse tensions among contending parties,” she said.
Fajardo assured Gonzales and other Central Luzon representatives as well as the Committee on Public Order and Safety that as Region 3 Police Chief, she would do everything in her capacity to make the democratic process peaceful and impartial.
At the House hearing, Fajardo addressed unsolved political killings in Gonzales’ district between April 2022 and November 2023, emphasizing the need for justice, thorough investigations, and public trust restoration.
She reported substantial progress: one case has been solved with three suspects arrested and charged, criminal complaints have been filed in four other cases, and only one case remains pending but is ready for filing.
Fajardo thanked Gonzales and the committee for their dedication to public safety and called for collective efforts to ensure justice and safety in Pampanga’s third district.