CPPO to send more troops to Dumanjug

CEBU, Philippines - Following the arrest of five suspected goons in Dumanjug, Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Patrocinio Comendador will deploy in the town two teams from the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) .

CPPO saw the need to augment the police force in the town because of the intense political rivalry between Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Garcia and former mayor Cesar Baricuatro, who is now running for mayor under the Liberal Party.

There were unconfirmed reports that the five armed men arrested last Thursday in Barangay Pawa were goons of a politician.

“So far, the suspects have not confessed anything.  We are still checking if their presence in the area has something to do with politics.  We will just say things if we have proof of the allegations,” Comendador said.

Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 Director Marcelo Garbo, Jr. admitted they were not able to foresee the intense political rivalry in Dumanjug during their security planning about three to four months ago.

“We did not see this thing to happen in Dumanjug three to four months ago.  It only manifested about two to three weeks ago so we have conducted a lot of checkpoints,” Garbo said in a separate interview.

Garbo directed Supt. Paul Cabanag, chief of the Regional Maneuver Force, to look into the allegations of Garcia about the presence of RMF personnel in Dumanjug.

“As I promised we will be serious in no guns and no goons and maybe, some people in the area are not used to checkpoints, which I believed are properly conducted,” he said.

Garbo again reiterated that PNP if only aimed for safe, secure and fair elections.

“Fair lang tayo at wala tayong sinisino dito.  Even CPPO arrested some armed guys who claim to be in the opposition of the other side na kalaban ni Garcia and not true na sini-single out natin sila,” he said.

Acting governor Agnes Magpale also denied Mayor Garcia’s allegation that LP instructed police personnel to set up checkpoints to force constituents to vote for LP candidates.

Magpale said that she did not even know that there were checkpoints when they passed by the town during LP’s four-day campaign caravan.

She added that checkpoints were set up to enforce the Comelec gun ban.

“I think it’s part of the peace keeping mission of PNP,” she said.   (FREEMAN)