At least 12 municipalities in Central Luzon have been recommended by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to be classified as “areas of concern” in light of the midterm elections this coming May.
Police Regional Office 3 (PRO-3) director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said they have already submitted their recommendation to place the 12 towns in Central Luzon in the list of areas of concern to the Commission on Elections for review and approval.
The affected towns are located in Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan.
“We have 12 municipalities that have been recommended there and those are still being deliberated. As the election period approaches, we will look at the security environment,” Maranan told reporters at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
“Historically, Central Luzon has really had intense political rivalries. There were also violent incidents that happened during the last election, so those areas are our focus and are also among those we have recommended for further monitoring. We are increasing our resources there including the addition of police and our logistical resources,” he added.
Maranan said however, the political situation in the region remained manageable.
“Right now, our political situation in Region 3 is manageable, although it is inevitable that there will be news from time to time, but we are continuing to validate that,” he noted.
Maranan also said he directed all police in Central Luzon to intensify their operations against private armed groups and loose firearms.
According to him, there is only one remaining private armed (PAG) in the region, and authorities were keeping an eye on the group said to be operating in Nueva Ecija.
“In Region 3, in the last quarter of 2024, we have dismantled five criminal gangs. We only have one private armed group left that we are targeting. In the coming days, hopefully we will neutralize it. This PAG is in Nueva Ecija and we are watching and monitoring their movements. In fact, we have already added more than 200 police officers in Nueva Ecija so that we can limit the movements of this PAG,” Maranan said.
“Our preparations for the upcoming elections continue, particularly on January 12 when the election period will start. We are complying with the CPNP’s (chief, PNP) order to further intensify police presence in all areas. We in PRO-3 have set up 24/7 checkpoints. Of course, we are focused on complying with the mandate of our SILG (Secretary of the Interior and Local Government) to dismantle all criminal gangs private armed groups,” Maranan added.
