EV is peaceful amid Mindanao bomb blasts - Soria Camp Kangleon, Palo, Leyte, August 7, 2013 – The region’s top police official assured the safety of the people in Eastern Visayas amidst the series of bombing that rocked Mindanao and the global terror alert issued by the United States recently. “Eastern Visayas remains generally peaceful with no major security concerns posed by threat groups and criminal elements”, assured Police Chief Superintendent Elmer R. Soria as he marked his first year Tuesday as the leader of the 6,000-strong police force of Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8). “While we take with serious attention the recent worldwide travel warning issued by the US and the spate of bomb blasts in Mindanao, the peace and order situation in the region remains within manageable level,” said Soria. Soria informed that PRO8 has intensified its intelligence information gathering in coordination with other members of the intelligence community and maximized police presence in places of convergence to pre-empt terroristic and criminal activities that may affect the tranquil atmosphere in the region. “Unit commanders were directed to beef-up their security measures and strictly adhere to the PNP’s three-tiered defense system,” he added. The three-tiered system was conceptualized at the height of terror attacks in the country before and is composed of intelligence gathering, target-hardening and incident management. Soria attributed the situation to peace and security efforts by security forces on anti-criminality operations, crime prevention and solution and quick response. These efforts include the strict enforcement of the Police Integrated Patrol System (PIPS) by police stations; maximized downloading of manpower and logistical resources; the active Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams (BPATs); and the deployment of new police recruits undergoing the Field Training Program (FTP) who augmented the needed manpower for police visibility in crime prone areas. But despite of the normal situation, the police official reiterated his call to the members of the community to immediately relay any information on crime and terror activities to police authorities. “We will treat any information as vital and important and will initiate appropriate action immediately,' the PRO8 chief added. On Monday afternoon, a powerful bomb rigged to a vehicle exploded along Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato City, with the death toll rising to nine people and injuring more than 30 others, including policemen. The bomb blast occurred barely two weeks after a bomb went off at a restobar in Cagayan de Oro City, killing eight people and wounding over 40 others. The Philippine National Police condemned the bombings and vowed to hunt down and punish the perpetrators. xx--END—xx PInsp. ROMUEL NACAR Media Relations Officer, PRO-8
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 05:13:33 +0000
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