Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Police ask Oslob residents to 'be cautious' of group
THE police are trying to find out if the Moncado Park Foundation Inc. (MPFI) requires new members to pay a fee to join their organization.
Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Carmelo Valmoria also said that only the military can use military ranks and that the members of the MPFI were not authorized to call themselves generals.
He urged the residents of Barangay Can-ukban to “be cautious” after learning of the group’s claims.
MPFI reportedly promised to give P20,000 a month to members between seven and 17, P250,000 a month to those between 18 and 69, and P60,000 to those between 70 and 100.
They also told police that they had US$228 trillion in projects for eight regions for the next 20 years and were looking for laborers and military personnel for their project in Can-ukban.
Not armed
Last Monday, they paid a visit to Sun.Star Cebu to deny they were an armed group and clarified that they were interested to develop Barangay Can-ukban. They showed a copy of a letter they sent to the barangay, saying they wanted to build schools, a hospital, hotel and a high-rise building with 132 floors.
Isabelo Cabasa, president and founder of MPFI, corporate secretary Joseph Cabahug and Paulo Beltran also appeared before the CPPO and talked to Supt. Anthony Bagarinao, chief of the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Branch.
They told Bagarinao they began their project last February.
Valmoria said they are closely monitoring these activities because these people made promises that the people might believe. He explained that they wanted to find out what the group was planning and what they were capable of.
Consolidating reports
He said they were concerned about movements in hinterland barangays.
“We are consolidating everything. We want to inform the public about this, especially those in the countryside,” he told reporters.
He welcomed the representatives of MPFI who paid a visit to his office to clarify matters and also thanked the residents who reported their presence to the police.
Even the mayor of Oslob was worried when he heard about their presence and called him to raise his concerns, Valmoria said.
Valmoria said that MPFI should have coordinated with the local government and the local police so as not to alarm the residents there. (MEA)
