‘Private armies’ hold Philippine politics at gunpoint
MANILA — The Philippines may have a new president but more than a hundred “private armies” still dominate local politics, using force and even murder to keep their masters in power, security experts warn. It is a problem that President Benigno Aquino III has vowed to resolve but it has persisted for decades, fed by poverty and entrenched political dynasties, and few people believe private armies will be eliminated soon. “Private armies thrive where there are powerful politicians and local kingpins who make local communities that are... untouched by national authority, their own private political domains,” a government commission said. These “armies” may include soldiers, policemen, civilian volunteers, jail guards, communist or separatist guerrillas, security guards, armed cult groups and street thugs. But the common denominator is that they work for influential politicians who use them to violently enforce their will in villages, towns and even cities, the commission warned in a report released recently. The commission was created to study the phenomenon of private armies following the massacre of 57 persons last year in the restive southern province of Maguindanao, allegedly by the area’s then-ruling clan’s private army. Killings by such private armies may not be an isolated event, according to the commission’s six-month-long study. The national police, in a report to the commission, said it had confirmed the existence of 112 private armies scattered across the country, some with as few as four members but others with hundreds. Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100703com3.html |
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