CEBU, Philippines - The top official of the Cebu City Police Office assured Cebuanos that the police are always on alert to keep the city safe after reports came out that rebel leader Umbra Kato was hospitalized in Cebu City last month.
“I would like to assure the people of Cebu City that we are here to maintain peace and order, always on alert,” said Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, CCPO director.
Buenafe said they did not receive a report about Kato’s hospitalization in Cebu City last month.
Kato is the leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM).
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) earlier posted on its website, luwaran.com, that Kato was in Cebu and his hospitalization was facilitated by a politician.
The article also said that the report on Kato’s presence in Cebu was corroborated by a government official in Maguindanao.
“If there will be threats, we will always be there to address it,” Buenafe further said.
The MILF report gave the impression that Muslim rebels can enter the city without the knowledge of the police.
Senior Supt. Erson Digal, chief of the Police Regional Office 7 Operation and Plans Division, had earlier denied receiving any information that Kato was in Cebu.
Digal also said the latest information that the police received was that Kato had a heart ailment and the government forces overpowered the rebels.
The military also could not confirm Kato’s presence in Cebu last month.
The notorious head of BIFM carries a P10 million bounty on his head. —(FREEMAN)