South Cotabato police gets new P4-M worth SWAT van

KORONADAL CITY — The South Cotabato police received a P4 million worth tactical van from the governor’s office in the province, essential to its law-enforcement activities in the provincial capital, Koronadal City, and towns around it.

Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, director of the Police Regional Office-12, said on Tuesday that he is thankful to Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. for providing the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office with a brand new van for its Special Weapons and Tactics unit.

Macaraeg said the unit was turned over by Tamayo during last week’s assumption to office of the new South Cotabato provincial police director, Col. Samuel Cadungon, who replaced Col. Arnold  Santiago, whose brief stint as head of the force was only in acting capacity.

“We are thankful to the office of the South Cotabato provincial governor for this brand new tactical van,” Macaraeg told reporters on Tuesday via Viber message.

Macaraeg and the commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, Major Gen. Alex Rillera, had separately mentioned, in yearend reports last month, that the office of Tamayo had supported extensively the PRO-12 and 6th ID’s joint campaign in 2023 against the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Dawlah Islamiya.

Rillera, also commander of the anti-terror Joint Task Force Central, then said that the surrender to 6th ID in 2023 of 59 Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF members from across South Cotabato were secured via backdoor negotiations facilitated by their units and local executives in the province led by Tamayo.