Bacolod police also on heightened alert

BACOLOD City Police Office (BCPO) Director Celestino Guara said Tuesday the 10 police stations in the city are also on heightened alert status after the communists attacked an Army detachment in Toboso town, Negros Occidental.

After the New People's Army attacked the Army detachment in Toboso town last Saturday, Guara reminded the policemen in the city to be very vigilant.

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He emphasized that BCPO officers in outlying areas, such as in Police Station 5 in Barangay Granada and Police Station 10 in Barangay Handumanan, should be doubly alert.

"They should not let their guards down, especially now that there were alleged sightings of rebels in some of the areas under the jurisdiction of the said police stations," Guara stressed.

Guara said that Bacolod City is considered as a "white area," which means, in police parlance, that there were no reported rebel atrocities in the city for a long time now.

"However, it is still possible that the NPAs will create chaos here in the metropolis to divert attention," he warned.

He said that the recent incident in Toboso should serve as a wake-up call, not only to the Philippine Army but at the same time to the members of the Philippine National Police.

They should be wary of the usual techniques of the rebels, so that similar atrocities will not happen again, Guara stated.

Guara cited that, several months ago, there were raw intelligence reports that Police Station 2 at Lacson Street and Police Station 3 were allegedly targeted by the NPAs.

He emphasized that the policemen in the city should be vigilant for the possible attack of the rebels, cautioning the policemen that the rebels might just be around the corner, waiting for a perfect time to attack.

Earlier, Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Noppo) Director Manuel Felix put Noppo on heightened alert status after the recent attack of NPAs at the Army detachment in Toboso last Saturday.

Chief Inspector Jefferson Descallar, chief of Noppo's Operations and Plans Branch, said that all police station chiefs in the province were directed to secure their respective stations or camps to thwart any possible attacks by insurgents.