BAGUIO CITY – An official of the Police Regional Office in Cordillera Administrative Region (PROCAR) on Monday said measures are being undertaken to ensure that Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) will not disturb the conduct of mid-term polls in the region.
“The PNP (Philippine National Police) and the military (Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippines Army) are on the ground, going after the remnants of the ICRC (Ilocos Cordillera Regional Command),” P/Col. Damian Olsim, PROCAR regional intelligence officer, said in a forum here.
Olsim said there have been CTG sightings in Abra, thus the “deployment of troops in the villages, especially at the upland areas.”
He said the number of CTGs has decreased from a battalion to just a platoon of around 50 persons, with the same number of firearms.
“The Cordillera is generally peaceful in terms of peace or insurgency issues. There are no violent activities,” he added.
The Regional Joint Security Coordinating Council (RJSCC), in its meeting in January, said presence of CTG and their influence during the election period are being tracked.
Commission on Elections-Cordillera director lawyer Julius Torres has repeatedly said measures are being done in areas that had previous records of intense political rivalries and presence of CTG.
“Abra is being monitored because of its history of intense political rivalries and due to the past record of influence of the CTG. So, we have to do management and operational strategies to ensure that past incidents will not be repeated,” he added. **Liza Agoot
