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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Wednesday, April 12, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Police in Negros Island Region are on alert following the clash between alleged Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits and government troops in Bohol province on Tuesday.
The entire Police Regional Office 18 (PRO-18) force was ordered to be vigilant.
Nine people were killed during the shootout in Inabanga town, a report on a cable news channel’s website said, citing authorities.
Police officers, especially those in the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, were mandated to conduct patrols, especially in coastal areas, to prevent the ASG from setting foot in Negros, said Senior Inspector Armilyn Vargas, PRO-18 spokesperson.
Officers must coordinate with local beaches and resorts, and foreigners residing in the region, Vargas said.
The public must also watch out for any suspicious activity and report them to the police, said the PRO-18 official.
Vargas said the PRO-18 is also coordinating with local units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard.
Major General Jon Aying, commander of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, earlier confirmed intelligence reports from the Coast Guard-Bacolod that the ASG is on the move in Sulu Sea.
The threat prompted the United States Embassy to warn American citizens against travelling to Cebu and Bohol.
Among those killed during the Tuesday shootout were five suspected ASG members, a police officer and three soldiers.
The Army encountered a group of “heavily armed lawless elements” in Barangay Napo, Inabanga, Bohol, Armed Forces chief of staff General Eduardo Año said in a statement relayed by Army spokesperson Brigadier General Restituto Padilla.
Ten armed men aboard three pump boats disembarked at the Inabanga river, a tourist site, on Monday night, Año said, citing reports from residents.
Inabanga is 71 kilometers north of Bohol’s capital of Tagbilaran City and 93 kilometers north of the popular Panglao island resort./PN
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