ILIGAN CITY – Police reinforcements from Cagayan de Oro City arrived yesterday to beef up security here during the Christmas holidays.
Iligan City police director Senior Superintendent Oscar Aguda said policemen will guard churches, malls, markets and other crowded places to ensure public safety following the terrorist bombing of two department stores on Aguinaldo Street last Thursday.
“This will be supported by intelligence monitoring in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and establishing a strong relationship with the local government unit,” he added.
Speaking over local radio, Col. Benito de Leon, Army 104th Brigade commander, assured residents of Iligan City of a peaceful Christmas.
Yesterday police with bomb-sniffing dogs rushed to Sabayle Street and Quezon Avenue after a box containing foodstuff was left in Farah Hotel, and a half-gallon can was found in front of Standard Blue Printing.
Vehicular traffic was re-routed as policemen cordoned off the two streets and nearby areas.
Meanwhile, sketches of three suspects in the said bombings of UniCity and Jerry’s Bargain Center department stores started circulating yesterday.
Military agents flood Central Mindanao
The military fielded dozens of plainclothesmen in strategic points in central Mindanao yesterday to thwart any terrorist attack during the Christmas holidays.
Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, Army 6th Infantry Division spokesman, said they have received reports that foreign-trained bombers under MILF commander Ameril Ombra Kato would bomb populated areas to sow terror and divert the attention of soldiers running after him in Maguindanao.
“Soldiers running after this MILF commander will continue to hunt for him even during Christmas and New Year’s Day,” he said.
Superintendent Danny Bacas, regional operations chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said all of the six provincial police commands will be on full alert during the holidays.
“The chiefs of police in all of the ARMM’s more than 100 towns will be in their respective places of assignment during the holidays,” he said.
“They will not be allowed to have a break or day off.”
The ARMM covers Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Shariff Kabunsuan, all in Central Mindanao, the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan. – With John Unson