ZAMBOANGA – Local authorities in Sulu province have laid down security measures to protect Sulu teachers following the beheading of a school principal by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants.

Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan on Wednesday assured teachers from Sulu first district that security will be provided to teachers to and from their places of station.

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He informed the teachers that the Philippine National Police (PNP) under provincial director Amado Pinto Mendoza has given the assurance that strategies are in place so the safety of teachers are not undermined.

Mendoza disclosed that as part of the security force, secret marshals will be deployed warding off lawless elements including the Abu Sayyaf bandits from victimizing teachers in Sulu.

Also, police visibility will be increased from the respective police municipal force augmented by the recently inducted Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT). Almost 2,000 members were inducted into the BPAT last week by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

Mendoza said teachers will have security from the vicinity of their respective schools. “The PNP will not allow the people of Sulu to live in fear.”

Also present during Wednesday’s meeting were the teachers from the first district led by their school division officer in-charge Eufremio Lacanaria, who sought the intervention of Tan in the light with what happened to Gabriel Canizares, the school principal in the village of Kanague, Patikul town.

Canizares, 36, was abducted by around 12 heavily armed men suspected to be Abu Sayyaf bandits at Kilometer 7 in Barangay Tanum in Patikul around 4:20 p.m. of October 19. He was on his way to Jolo on board a passenger jeep, together with other teachers, when forcibly taken by the gunmen.

The family failed to pay the P2 million demanded by the kidnappers.

Canizares’ decapitated head, which was placed in a bag, and was found last Monday morning near a gasoline station in downtown Jolo, the capital town of Sulu.

Since last Monday, classes had been suspended as a show of sympathy to Canizares’ family.

“I understand and we have always shown concern to the plight of the teachers, this incident is very unfortunate, but we must not sacrifice the interests of our students”, said Tan, referring to the suspension of classes.

“We have come up with strategies to ensure the safety of our teachers and we must localize this (problem),” Tan added.

Tan said judges and prosecutors are now present in Sulu to add to the legal component in going after the lawless elements to include the Abu Sayyaf.

He said the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) are also stationed in Sulu to augment the investigation arm against criminal elements.

Tan reminded the teachers that in every crisis there is an opportunity as he promised to go after the murderers of Canizares.

Department of Education (DepEd) and various teachers groups condemned Monday the beheading of an abducted school principal in Sulu as the government promised to hunt down those responsible for it.

Sulu education department supervisor Lacanaria, after he was briefed of the security measures, said he will direct the teachers to start reporting to their respective work places on Monday so that regular classes would resume. (Bong Garcia/VR/Sunnex)