PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. ordered on Friday, February 24, 2023, all Police Regional Offices (PROs) to conduct threat assessments on all government officials in their respective areas in response to a recent series of attacks against them.

Over the course of seven days, three local government officials were ambushed in separate incidents. Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. was attacked on February 17, Aparri, Cagayan Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda on February 19, and Ohto Montawal on February 22.

Among the three, Alameda was killed.

“Ang marching order natin, hindi lamang actually sa ating bagong RD (regional director) ng NCR (National Capital Region), but sa lahat ng regional directors to start conducting a threat assessment sa mga elected as well as appointed officials doon sa kanilang mga respective areas, so that we would know the current state ng kanilang kalagayan whether ‘yun bang security na prinoprovide ng PNP ay kulang or sapat,” Azurin said.

(We have directed not only the new regional director of NCR but also all regional directors to conduct threat assessments on elected and appointed officials in their respective areas. This will help us determine the current state of their security and whether the protection provided by the PNP is sufficient or not.)

“Yun bang area na kung saan may mga perceived sila na kaaway ay very active ba or medyo nag-lie low. So that doon is masasabihan natin ‘yung security nila na magdagdag o paigtingin pa natin ang kanilang security,” he added.

(We are particularly concerned about areas where officials have perceived enemies who are either very active or lying low. In these cases, we will advise officials to increase or strengthen their security measures accordingly.)

The PNP chief said the current policies only permit elected officials to have two security personnel from the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG).

Azurin expressed concern about the three incidents but assured that the PNP is taking measures to ensure the safety of government officials.

“Siyempre, as as much as possible nga is we wanted to achieve a zero crime against our elected and appointed officials dito sa ating goyberno. Kaya nga nakikita natin na is this is a pattern or incidental lang kasi nga iba-ibang lugar naman sila nanggaling. So yun ang pinag-aaralan natin ngayon,” he said.

(Of course, we aim to have no crimes committed against our government officials, both elected and appointed. We are currently investigating whether these incidents are part of a pattern or just random occurrences, considering that the officials involved come from different places.) (SunStar Philippines)