Alfred Dalizon

Top PNP midterm polls concerns: ‘Guns, goons, gold’ and now fake news

January 21, 2025 Alfred P. Dalizon 165 views

PNP chief General Rommel Marbil hit the nail right on the head when he announced that they are now making all necessary efforts to address the presence of “3 Gs and 1 F” or the so-called “Guns, Goons and Gold plus Fake News” that may affect the May 12 national and local elections.

I was present when the top cop made the remark after attending the 72nd founding anniversary of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group headed by Brigadier Gen. Nick Torre where he praised the latter and his men for a job well done in 2024.

In referring to their crackdown against “Guns,” Gen. Marbil said he has ordered all 17 Police Regional Offices and the different PNP National Operational Support Units led by the CIDG to further step-up their effort to account for loose firearms and other deadly weapons that could pose as a threat to public order specifically during the mid-term polls.

I expect more major PNP accomplishments against illegal firearms, explosives and illegal weapons in the country as police continue to strictly enforce a nationwide gun ban which will run from January 12 to June 11 this year. Over 225 gun ban offenders including two foreigners have been apprehended while more than 220 firearms and explosives and over 1,000 various live ammunition have also been confiscated by the police force since January 12 alone.

It is also worthy to note that in 2024, police conducted more than 5 million checkpoints, Oplan Sita/Bakal and other operations which led in the arrest of nearly 8,700 suspects who are now facing some 6,700 cases for illegal possession of firearms in court. Those operations also netted more than 25,000 illegal guns last year alone.

Gen. Marbil said he has also ordered the PNP-CIDG to continue their aggressive campaign against “Guns”:which include active and potential PAGs and loose firearms that could be used as an “instrument of violence” during the May elections.

The top cop has included active police, military and other law enforcement officers who would engaged in partisan politicking activities and actively support candidates as part of the ‘Goons’ they are targeting apart from the usual members of Private Armed Groups working for rogue politicians every election period.

He explained that policemen and soldiers who would play partisan politics and seriously involve themselves with candidates over and above their main role which is to keep peace and order and ensure a fair and orderly election would now be considered as part of the “Goons” they want to neutralize.

Gen. Marbil said that any member of the police force who would be found to be serving as unauthorized bodyguards or helping candidates at the cost of the PNP’s image will be unmasked and given strict sanctions.

“This is a warning to all. Let’s all stay apolitical,” he said while adding that any cop who will be found to be acting as a ‘Goon’ of candidates will find himself in deep trouble and won’t get the promotion he wants.

He also warned that the immediate commander of policemen who will allow themselves to become ‘Goons’ of candidates will also be relieved. “Alam ng intelligence units natin yan kaya ang payo ko sa inyo, wag kayong magpagamit. Wag tayong sumasama sa mga pulitiko kahit hindi nila tayo security personnel. Let’s be apolitical,” he emphasized.

The PNP chief said they are also going after “Gold” which refers to money being used by candidates to buy votes. Unlike before where traditional vote-buying involves money actually changing hands, police are now addressing the possibility that vote-buyers and sellers will take advantage of GCash and other mobile payment apps in the country.

Thus, it needs all the support they can get from other concerned government agencies and mobile wallet service companies in the country to address the problem. In particular, they need the assistance of GCash, a subsidiary of Globe Telecom which is now considered as the most popular mobile wallet in The Philippines with nearly 80 million registered users to date.

Since GCash allows users to send and receive money within seconds, I think much needs to be done to monitor or even stop huge and mysterious cash transactions before or during the actual elections.

The intelligence community likewise needs to conduct an honest-to-goodness monitoring of the main sources of money including banks as well as possible vote-buying ‘distribution points’ in the country. Mysterious huge money withdrawals from local banks before the E-Day should be guarded with the help of bank authorities.

Guarding the source of the money being used to buy votes should also be a main concern of authorities. I’m referring to the need to monitor ‘compounds’ where money is being distributed. For the record, the PNP during the 2019 mid-term polls confiscated some P12 million from vote-buying and selling incidents.

The Police Regional Office 13 in Caraga region, then headed by Brigadier Gen. Gilbert Cruz, now a retired Major General-turned Undersecretary of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, made the biggest seizure with nearly P7.977 million cash seized as a result of its operation versus two incidents of vote-buying and selling in the region.

PRO13 agents that year raided the residences of two mayoralty candidates in the region. One of the raids led in the discovery of money-filled envelopes and sample ballots. The cash were counted at P2 million. The 2nd raid led in the seizure of envelopes filled with newly-minted bills and sample ballots too. When counted, the money recovered during the 2nd raid reached P5 million.

Lastly, Gen. Marbil said they really want to address ‘Fake News’ particularly in the social media which can destroy the image of candidates with just one click of the finger. Brig. Gen. Torre himself is a victim of ‘fake news’ obviously as a result of his successful effort to arrest Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder, self-proclaimed ‘Anointed Son of God’ Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused in a trafficking and child abuse case inside the KOJC compound in Davao City last September.

The PNP chief said they are communicating with the Commission on Elections all their actions and recommendations to keep the mid-term polls as peaceful and orderly as possible. To emphasize his point anew, Gen. Marbil warned any member of the police force who will ‘moonlight’ as bodyguards of politicians during the election period that they will be fired from the force once identified.

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