Bodyguards of the nation

How can you tell a private army from an authorized security team for a government official or VIP civilian? The answer to this question is critical to the success of any campaign to dismantle private armies, which President Marcos ordered this week.

Similar orders have been given by practically every post-EDSA administration. And yet here we are, with rival politicians sicking their largely government-funded security teams, armed with state-issued guns, against each other.

If BBM wants to genuinely dismantle private armies, part of the answer is to withdraw cops and soldiers from bodyguard duty, and assign security details only to the President and immediate family members plus the four officials in the constitutional line of succession.

Last Tuesday, the entire Bayawan City police force was sacked. Was this because it functioned as a private army of the local political kingpins, the Teves clan?

Bayawan was where three of the suspected killers of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo were caught and a fourth gunned down just hours after the daring assassination on March 4. It was also where high-powered guns and other equipment used in the assassination were found by pursuing police-military teams.

Two of the arrested suspects have tagged Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. as the person who ordered the assassination, the National Bureau of Investigation said yesterday. There was no word from the NBI on Teves’ brother, Pryde Henry.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he believed there appeared to be three to four masterminds.

President Marcos described the video footage of the attack that left eight others dead as “particularly terrifying… shocking.”

* * * The daring attack was staged right inside the sprawling residential compound of Degamo in Pamplona town, which was crowded with his constituents receiving ayuda as well as household staff and the security details for both the governor and the mayor of Pamplona, who happens to be Degamo’s widow Janice. Police now describe the attack as the “Pamplona massacre.” The assassins, mostly former Army soldiers who were dishonorably discharged, were armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers, wore camouflage uniforms and flak vests and used SUVs for their getaway.

Pryde Henry Teves was initially declared winner of the 2022 race for governor, but was unseated after the Commission on Elections found Degamo’s electoral protest valid.

During the campaign, Degamo had complained that the Teves clan had fielded a mechanic named Grego Gaudia to run as “Ruel Degamo” for governor. The Comelec later ruled that Ruel Degamo was a nuisance candidate, and credited all votes for him to Roel Degamo.

Congressman Teves called a press conference on Monday, saying he expected to be blamed for Degamo’s assassination and denying any hand in the attack. No one at the time had openly pinned the blame on Teves, although Marcos said the murder was “purely political.”

* * * Police Lt. Col. Gerard Pelare, spokesman for the Special Investigation Task Group Degamo, explained to “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News on Tuesday that several of the gunmen were caught just hours after the attack because of a joint police-military dragnet imposed in parts of Negros island.

Let’s hope this kind of police efficiency will be manifested even when the victim is not a provincial governor and husband of a city mayor.

We asked Pelare how they would carry out Marcos’ order to dismantle private armies, and how they would distinguish between a politician’s private army and statedetailed security.

Pelare said if a security team engaged in criminal activity, it would be deemed a private army. Not quite a reassuring explanation.

After all, the private army that the Ampatuans deployed against their rivals the Mangudadatus in Maguindanao in November 2009, killing 58 people including 32 journalists, consisted mostly of cops and paramilitary forces on the public payroll. After that massacre, raiders found that the massive arsenal of the Ampatuans consisted mostly of government-issued weapons.

In this country, even jueteng lords, VIP businessmen and foreign operators of offshore gaming firms move around with a slew of bodyguards that often include cops and soldiers. Are these considered private armies that must be dismantled?

Security details often develop the kind of loyalty to their principal that allows them to be used for purposes that would be associated with a private army.

The Degamos themselves appear to enjoy extensive security. Numbers, unfortunately, don’t guarantee safety; they proved no match for the gunmen who went after the governor.

* * * Quirino Gov. Dakila Cua, president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines and national chairman of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, says that not all local government executives want bodyguards.

Meeting with PNP officials at Camp Crame earlier this week, Cua said the governors suggested closer coordination between local government units and the PNP, to speed up responses during attacks such as the one on Degamo.

Cua told The Chiefs that this kind of coordination should include keeping tabs of persons who undergo specialized training in law enforcement or military-related activities, and those who dabble in guns and other weaponry.

He noted that local police generally know who are the troublemakers in a particular area and should be able to keep watch on such persons, including those who dispose of old vehicles or engage in carjacking and the theft of vehicle license plates.

The governors also suggested that the PNP and AFP keep closer tabs on personnel dismissed from the service, including how they are making a living and whether they are keeping guns.

Cua says Quirino is peaceful and safe enough for him not to feel the need for a large contingent of security escorts. He acknowledges though that not all places in the country are as safe as his province.

Ordinary folks also want protection, including greater police presence – which cannot happen if most of the cops and other security personnel are assigned to guard politicians, private VIPs, their families and even mistresses.

That is the challenge to the government: to make the entire country safe enough for everyone to feel no need for special protection.

Instead of increasing security teams for a horde of politicians now clamoring for additional bodyguards – raising the possibility of creating more private armies – BBM should order government security forces to do a better job of ensuring public safety.

They are bodyguards not just of a privileged few, but of the entire nation.