THE Philippine National Police suspended for
a week permits to carry firearms outside of residences
nationwide which took effect noontime last Monday and will last
until March 3.
PNP chief Avelino I. Razon said the
suspension of the PTCFOR was to lessen the movement of firearms
in the streets as part of security measures to cope with more
mass actions expected between yesterday up to Friday.
"Ito (suspension of the PTCFORs) ay ating
ipatutupad to lessen the movement of firearms upang hindi ito
lumaganap sa ating lansangan para masiguro na may katahimikan
ang mga rallies," Razon told a press conference in Camp Crame.
Razon said the move was not due to the
reported mass recruitment of personnel in the police force who
will join plans to overthrow the government or any other reason.
"This is preventive in nature para masiguro
ang peace and order kaya sinuspend natin ang PTCFOR for one
week... Walang bisa yung mga dating inisyu na PTCFOR," Razon
said.
"This is just part of the security measures
that we are implementing. We are suspending all PTCFORs to
ensure that there will be no civilians carrying guns especially
during mass actions," he added.
Razon, however, clarified that they have not
monitored any destabilization threats and gave the assurance
that the PNP is ready for any eventuality.
"What we have monitored are disinformation
attempts of alleged police and military intervention and
purported participation in mass actions, mostly spread through
anonymous text and email messages," he said.
Razon said some text messages even suggested
that he has already resigned from his post.
AFP chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon,
who was present in the press conference, said the same
disinformation campaign was also going around in the AFP. These
include rumors that seven AFP generals were given P5 million
each to join anti-government moves and that some units of the
AFP have withdrawn their support from President Arroyo.
Razon said: "None of these rumors are true
and we are continuously investigating to identify the authors of
this disinformation."
Esperon, on the other hand, said the
military's role in quelling threats is only to support police
action when called for.
"Lalabas kami under two circumstances. One, if the PNP calls
for augmentation, and two, kung may nakita kami na sundalo na
naka-uniform at armado na sumasama sa rally," Esperon said. -
Raymond Africa
