Police have arrested 23 incumbent local officials in the series of operations against persons and groups that authorities deemed to threaten the peaceful conduct of midterm elections next month.
General Oscar Albayalde, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the 23 local officials are among the 168 people arrested from March 22 to 28.
He identified some of those arrested as Tubajon, Dinagata Island Mayor Rpmeo Vargas; Tagbina, Surigao del Sur Vice Mayor Antonio Adlao. The rest of those arrested were town councilors and barangay officials.
“These operations are aimed at ensuring that the elections are peaceful. We just want to make sure that they would not threaten the elections,” said Albayalde.
The operations, according to him, also resulted in the confiscation of 137 firearms and 34 explosives. (Aaron Recuenco)