(Photo grabbed from Inquirer.net)
PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos slammed photo-op peace covenants among politicians during election period as she pushed for a threepronged approach to dismantle private armies and curb the proliferation of loose guns Friday afternoon.
Marcos who spoke before farmers of Central and Northern Luzon provinces at the Nueva Ecija Convention Center (NECC) here said an honest to goodness meeting among politicians tops the steps in fi ghting private armed groups (PAGs) and guns for hire.
“Unang una, kailangang nagkakaisa. Hindi na lang yung photo op na peace covenant tuwing eleksiyon kundi yung makatotohanan na pakakaisa na hindi gaganit ng dahas,” she said.
Marcos noted that warlordism used to be prevalent in their province until politicians sat and resolved to curb violence themselves.
“Dati-rati kami yung sikat dyan e. Dati yung mga warlord, jueteng lord, drug lord, kung anu-anong lord namin sa norte. Sila ang namamayagpag nun. Sa awa ng Diyos natigil na rin kahit pano,” she said.
Politicians, she said, should realize that winning an election by force and use of money will result to nothing.
The provincial government, Marcos said, initiated the creation of an anti-PAGs counci.
She said: “E usap usapan huwag na tayong magbolahan. Wala namang kukuha ng mga guns for hire kundi pulitiko. Tayo-tayo na lang mag-usap pwede ba? Huwag na tayong maglokohan, alam naman natin kung kanino si ganito, kung sino ang ganyan.”
The second step, she said, is an aggressive campaign against unregistered firearms similar to the police’s Oplan Katok.
This resulted to at least four of ten guns from the previous one out of ten the number of licensed guns in their province.
The third is enlisting the help of religious, non-government organizations and village- based groups in an incentivized drive.
The provincial government of Ilocos Norte, she said, provides P20,000 to P40,000 for information that will lead to dismantling of PAGs or filing of cases.
