60 SAF troops arrive in Samar to battle ‘lawless violence’

By: Inquirer.net December 05,2018 - 09:54 PM

TACLOBAN CITY – About 60 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have arrived in Samar.

Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, Eastern Visayas police director, said the SAF members were housed at the provincial police headquarters in Catbalogan City, Samar.

He said they were deployed ‘immediately’ after the issuance by Malacañang of Memorandum Circular 32 purportedly to address ‘lawless violence’ in the province.

Memorandum Order 32 was issued on November 22.

Carlos said in an interview that the SAF members would be deployed to ‘specific areas’ in Samar, once a guideline [is] drafted with their counterparts at the 8th Infantry Division, which is also based in Catbalogan City.

“We are waiting for the guidelines in coordination with our counterparts … [as to] where they will be deployed,” Carlos said.

By Samar, Carlos said, this could include the three provinces of the island, namely, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar.

The three Samar provinces continue to struggle with the presence of the New People’s Army and private armed groups.

Carlos added that he would also ask all the Samar police headquarters to organize their own forces help the visiting forces.

Carlos allayed the fears that the augmentation of forces may result to abuses or human rights violations.

“We are addressing crimes. If you commit a crime, murder people and harass people to pursue something that is not for the betterment of the country, eh tatayo kami bilang (we will stand as) security forces, together with the Armed Forces,” he said.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

TAGS: PNP, SAF

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.