There are 3,680 members of Philippine National Police (PNP) deployed in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions. Two battalions of the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) and eight companies of the Provincial Mobile Groups (PMGs) are involved in counter-insurgency operations while the rest man the police stations.
The 503rd “Justice and Peace Brigade” is deployed in the Ilocos region and is headed by Col. Loreto Rirao.
The 50th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army continues to conduct strike, pursuit and civil military operations in the provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. Under the leadership of Col. Roy Devesa, the 50th IB goes to different barangays (villages) allegedly influenced by the revolutionary New People’s Army (NPA). They usually stay in public places and conduct meetings to discuss counterinsurgency. They are also massively recruiting members for the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) to join military operations. To date, newly-recruited CAFGUs were deployed in detachments at Pinili and Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte and Sinait, Ilocos Sur. Reports from the people of the localities revealed that several CAFGU members indiscriminately fire their guns at night, disrupting the sleep of residents and instilling fear among them.
