Doria: No rebels in mountain barangays

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Police Office Director Senior Superintendent Joel Doria said that preventive patrols done in the city's mountain barangays showed negative sightings of any rebels.

Cebu City Public Safety Battalion personnel were deployed to patrol in the mountain barangays of following the ambush which killed six policemen and one civilian in Guihulngan  City in Negros Oriental last Friday, allegedly perpetrated by the New People's Army (NPA) rebels.

“Meron akong directive sa ating public safety. We have received two police personnel na graduate ng commando (training), we are utilizing them as platoon leaders of our public safety (teams) and they are now deployed in the mountain barangays,” Doria said.

Doria indicated that his directives specified the clearing of high-grounds and vulnerable entry points.

“Maganda yung proactive tayo kaysa naman sa reactive. Cebu City remains to be a white area, meaning wala sila (rebels) dito,” Doria said.

 Meanwhile, Police Regional Office-7 Spokesperson Senior Inspector Reslyn Abella said that ever since the first Association of Southeast Asian Nation Trade Ministerial Meetings last April, the region still has not lifted its full alert status.

 “We are on full alert status. Ang directive is to intensify ang ating security operations especially in the coastal areas and mountain barangays. Especially sa proximity sa atong mga conflict zones, so we have to be alert,” Doria confirmed.

Abella reiterates that the public should remain vigilant when it comes to suspicious looking personalities in order to prevent any forms of atrocities from occurring.

No Martial Law in Visayas

Following the ambush in Guihulngan City, Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said he is not in favor for martial law to be imposed in the Visayas.

"I hope not. Para nako (it) would not constitute sufficient basis for the declaration of martial law in Negros, in Cebu or any part of the Visayas. It was sad and tragic nga nahitabo to," Davide said.

Davide said he hopes that the military rule declared in Mindanao will not extend to the Visayas.

Now that the end of the 60-day martial law in Mindanao ended last July 22, Duterte has asked Congress to extend military rule in Mindanao until the end of 2017.

Davide said he agrees with Duterte's move as several of Mindanao's towns and cities are known to be conflict zones.

“Wala pa gyud nila na flush-out ang mga Maute group diha sa Marawi. I hope it won't get worse, but this is really the basis for extending martial law not just in Marawi but in Mindanao kay duna man pu'y mga gun battles in some parts of Mindanao like in Sulu, for instance," Davide said.

In a dialogue with the Cebu business community leaders at the Office of the Presidential Assistant of the Visayas (OPAV) on May 30, the business sectors expressed support for the possible extension of the martial law into the Visayas as this is for the safety and security of the public.

The Police Regional Office-7 as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines- Central Command (Centcom) during the discourse with the business community, assured that they will do their job in maintaining security if martial law is declared.

Just last Monday, after Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA), he announced in a news conference that there will be no martial law for the whole country as he is not like the former president Ferdinand Marcos, adding that he disliked being compared to the latter.

“There will be no nationwide martial law. I will look stupid before the eyes of the public if I do that…I am not Marcos. Don’t compare me with Marcos. The values of Marcos are not necessarily mine just because there is martial law,” Duterte said in a press conference at the Batasan after his SONA. (FREEMAN)