Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas (left) with Police Colonel Jonathan Abella in a press conference at the PRO-7 headquarters along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City. CDN Digital photo | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — More police officers will be sent to Negros Oriental to help in keeping the peace and order in that province and to help deter more killings there.
Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director, said this during a press briefing on July 30 at the PRO-7 headquarters in Cebu City.
Sinas said that with more police personnel deployed there, criminals or bandits would think twice before committing any crime.
He, however, did not say how many police officers he would deploy to Negros Oriental, which had experienced a series of killings in the past week or since July 23.
As of July 27, the PRO-7 had recorded 17 shooting deaths since July 23.
Read more: Sinas to public: Help stop Negros Or. killings, be vigilant, coordinate with police
Sinas also said that their intensified operations and investigations on the killings led to the arrest of four persons believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
The arrests included a man caught slinging ammunition on his shoulder after a 20-minute firefight with soldiers in Bindoy town, Negros Oriental over the weekend.
Epifanio Cabusog of Sitio Sook, Barangay Mabato, Ayungon town, was caught after soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) engaged in a shootout with suspected members of Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) on July 29 in Barangay Nalundan, Barangay Bindoy, Negros Oriental.
Cabusog was caught near the area of the encounter with an ammunition bandoleer slung on his shoulder, said Sinas.
Aside from that, Sinas said, according to initial reports, Cabusog was also allegedly caught with a rifle grenade.
Read more: Sinas to NegOr cops: Don’t tag NPAs in killings unless there is proof
Also on the same day, July 29, police arrested two men at a checkpoint in Barangay Mabato in Ayungon town, Negros Oriental.
Those arrested were allegedly suspected to have been involved in the ambush killing of four police officers in Ayungon town last July 18.
Read more: Sinas: Raising Negros Or. cop-killers’ bounty to P3M can help in probe
Sinas identified those arrested at Mabato checkpoint as Rico Cadelina, 39, and Lito Anadon, 51. Both are residents of the barangay.
The fourth person arrested was Onie Bangala, 37, who was arrested in an operation on July 26 in Barangay Carol-an, Ayungon town.
Sinas said that initial reports said that Onie Bangala was with a relative a Nerie Boy Bangala, 25, when the operation was conducted.
Nerie Boy, however, managed to escape when the police officers moved in to arrest them.
Sinas said that confiscated from Onie’s house were firearms, ammunition, syringe, knives, and rifle grenades.
These were all turned over to the Ayungon town police station./dbs