The entire police force in Central Visayas has been placed under red alert status following the second bombing in Sultan Kudarat on Sunday which killed two persons.
Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, the director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said that he declared the red alert status in adherence to the directive issued by the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame.
“We declared red alert for that purpose. We are very concerned about what happened there (in Sultan Kudarat),” said Sinas in a press conference on Monday.
Sinas said that they are constantly checking and verifying with their local counterparts if there are terror threats in Central Visayas.
“Katatapos lang ng ating intelligence fusion and coordination (from other law enforcement agencies). Hopefully dili kaabot sa atoa (the said threat),” said Sinas.
(We just finished our intelligence fusion and coordination from other law enforcement agencies. Hopefully, the threat will not reach us).
Last Sunday, two persons were killed while 15 others were injured when unidentified men bombed an internet cafe in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat just days after another explosion rocked a festival in the city which killed three persons.
A homemade bomb also ripped through a pier in Masbate last month, with no reported casualties.
Sinas said that because of the successive bombings in Sultan Kudarat a similar threat could not be totally ruled out in other regions.
However, Sinas clarified that based on their monitoring, there is no imminent threat in Central Visayas.
“So far wala tay na monitor nga nay threat on our end. But pangunahan namo sila so stricter inspection and more police visibility atong i-implement especially on ports,” said Sinas.
(So far we have not monitored any imminent threat on our end. But we want to make sure of that so we will have a stricter inspection and more police visibility especially on ports)
Sinas urged the public to nonetheless, stay calm and vigilant at all times.
“Appealing to everybody to please help us monitor sa mga lugar nato. Kung nay namatikdan nga dili maayo o pamalakad sa inyong lugar report dayon sa pulis. We are giving instructions to our police stations to act to reports similar to Isulan. Hopefully dili mahitabo sa atoa. We are praying to God,” said Sinas.
(I am appealing to everybody to please help us monitor our area. If you notice any suspicious person or acts please report to the police. We are giving instructions to our police stations to act on reports similar to Isulan)