Bohol execs alarmed of reported armed men from Negros

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Government officials in Bohol, from mayors to purok leaders, have been alerted over reports of armed men, allegedly coming from Negros Oriental, on board a motorized boat that might be heading to the shorelines of tourist-favorite island of Bohol.

In a text blast message by Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto, he notified the local authorities here that based on an intelligence report from Region 18 (Negros Island Region), a group of 15 to 20 armed men had been spotted leaving the shores of Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental at around 7 p.m. Saturday without a confirmed destination.

"Giawhag ang tanan nga magmabinantayon hilabi na ang mga nagpuyo sa baybayon, mangingisda, tag-iya sa baroto o pumpboat ug motaho dayon sa mga kadudahang lihok ngadto sa mga HOTLINE NUMBERS," Chatto said in the mass text message.

The message was sent to Bohol's 47 town mayors and one city mayor, 1,109 barangay captains, and thousands more of tanods and purok leaders who have been commissioned by Capitol to fight terrorism, insurgency, and illegal drugs through the Barangay Intelligence Network's (BIN) information-sharing scheme.

Chatto sent the alarm message in the wake of last Friday's ambush in Guihulngan City, allegedly perpetrated by the New People's Army (NPA) that killed six police officers and wounded three other cops.

Although Guilhungan is 155km away from mainland Bohol, Chatto said he does not rule out the possibility of armed men from Negros seeking refuge in Bohol as they are hunted down by government troops after an ambush that further doomed government-sponsored peace talks with rebels.

Bohol has been employing extraordinary security measures after the province was infiltrated by Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf terrorists last April when 11 Abu bandits were eventually killed after more than a month of hot pursuit operation.

In 2009 Bohol was declared insurgency-free by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) after decades of conflict between rebels and the government. Bohol's Purok Power Movement, a development initiative by the provincial government, is considered the country's model in the AFP's pursuit of transforming a locality into an insurgency-free community.

Eight years since Bohol was declared insurgency-free, the province today is again confronted with possibilities of inevitable conflict following recently reported sightings of armed men in certain towns in Bohol. (FREEMAN)