Governor Imee Marcos suspects some private armed groups may be behind a bomb threat that hit the provincial capitol building in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte on Thursday morning.
Marcos stressed that the threat may have been a bid to intimidate her, but she will not be cowed.
"Gumawa ako ng anti-PAG [private armed groups] task force. Baka may ilan diyan na nawalan ng negosyo o raket — sori na lang — baka sila naninindak lang, huwag tayo mapalundag," she said in an interview over dzRH radio.
(I formed a task force against private armed groups. There may be some PAGs that lost some business or opportunities for corruption — sorry about that — maybe they’re just blustering, but let’s not get jittery.)
Initial investigation showed that a guard at the provincial capitol received a phone call from a man who claimed a bomb will explode in the building.
The guard called in police, who in turn ordered the evacuation of the capitol while a bomb squad came in to inspect the premises. An initial check yielded no bomb.
Governor Marcos said the threat came shortly after she announced a crackdown on private armies and guns-for-hire in her turf.
Task force created
Governor Marcos had announced on Oct. 28 that her government had formed a task force to investigate the existence of private armies in the province and dismantle them within six months.
In a closed-door meeting with mayors and police chiefs, the governor discuss the spate of political killings this year that she said had dented Ilocos Norte’s peaceful landscape.
The officials reportedly agreed to create the anti-PAG (partisan armed group) task force to go after private armies under the control of local politicians, and dismantle them immediately.
23 private armies
Earlier this year, the Directorate for Integrated Police Office (DIPO) Northern Luzon of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it was working to disarm and dismantle at least 23 private armies of politicians in its jurisdiction.
Director Roberto Rosales, head of DIPO Northern Luzon said, cited DIPO records showing that of the 23 private armies, six are in Pangasinan, three in La Union, one each in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, four in Abra, four in Cagayan, two in Isabela, and two in Nueva Ecija.
The Zenarosa Commission, formed in 2009 to investigate private armies and recommend ways of dismantling them, confirmed that at least 68 private groups in the country were armed with high-powered firearms, even as the total number could reach as high as 170.
Bomb threat hits La Union high school
Meanwhile, a bomb threat prompted the suspension of classes at the Lorma San Juan school in La Union province before noon Thursday.
San Juan municipal police chief Senior Inspector Reynaldo Mingaracal said the threat was sent to five school officials via mobile text message.
"Please be aware ... one of the bombs will explode ... This is from a reliable source," Mingaracal quoted the message as saying, in an interview over dzBB radio.
He said four teachers and one technical staff member received the threat at about 9:18 a.m.
School principal Elizabeth Camara said that according to another text message, the bomb was to explode at 12:30 p.m.
She said the school had 396 high school students and 750 elementary students.
The teachers were left at the school while the students were sent home, she said in a separate radio interview.—JV
