THE Police Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-Davao) confirmed the arrest of 16 individuals in Barangay Tubaon, Tarragona, Davao Oriental, who were allegedly hired and linked to a vice mayoralty candidate in the said municipality to act as security for his supporters during the election period.
The suspects reportedly posed as members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and are allegedly connected to retired Army personnel Esnani Mai. The military confirmed that there was no such deployment had been made.
In a statement on May 6, 2025, PRO-Davao regional director Brigadier General Leon Victor Rosete said the individuals were apprehended after residents reported their suspicious presence earlier this week.
The group allegedly moved through various sitios in Barangay Tubaon, causing alarm and harassing locals while claiming they were deployed to maintain peace and order.
Following the incident, a joint team from the Tarragona Municipal Police Station, led by Police Captain Roy L. Englisa, and backed by the Regional Mobile Force Battalion and Regional Police Special Battalion, conducted a hot pursuit operation that led to the arrests.
Rosete confirmed that all 16 suspects were civilians from Davao Oriental and Davao de Oro, with no official ties to the AFP. Authorities said the individuals confessed to being recruited by the politician for election-related activities, specifically to safeguard voters for the upcoming May 12 National and Local Elections (NLE).
Meanwhile, the Bagong Tarragona Movement (BTM), a political group based in Davao Oriental, has condemned the recent arrests as “baseless and illegal.” According to the organization, members of their Kanato Ini Team, supporters of the influential Dayanghirang family, were apprehended on the morning of May 5 without the presentation of any arrest warrants.
BTM’s legal counsel, lawyer Mark Mascan Virgilio, confronted police officers at the scene, demanding to see the arrest warrants and questioning the legitimacy of the operation.
In a video footage, Virgilio recounts that officers claimed they would "just file charges in court," without producing any legal documents.
Board Member Kaka Bulaong, a mayoral candidate for Tarragona, also confirmed that the individuals arrested were key supporters involved in their campaign’s miting de avance.
Authorities are preparing to file charges under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines for usurpation of authority.
The law penalizes two acts: falsely representing oneself as an officer or agent of the government (Philippine or foreign), and performing acts reserved for public officials or authorities without being legally entitled.
Meanwhile, the penalty, classified as prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods, ranges from six months and one day to four years and two months.
Currently, the case is under investigation by the Tarragona police, in coordination with the Commission on Elections (Comelec). DEF