Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Centcom troops from Bohol camp sent to reinforce Lanao soldiers
THE military clashes with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Minda-nao have changed plans of the Central Command (Centcom) to add troops to Negros Island to force out the New People’s Army.
Centcom commander, Lt. Gen. Pedro Ike Inserto, told reporters yesterday that a company from the 43rd Infantry Battalion (IB) in Bohol would have been sent to Negros
Island, but they had to be redirected to Lanao del Norte instead.
One company of Special Forces in Negros will be transferred to Bohol Province to replace the troops from the 43rd IB.
He, however, assured that the personnel from the 78th Infantry Battalion will remain intact to secure Cebu Province.
With most of the forces of the 78th IB in Cebu’s mid-north, he said the 78th IB Alpha Company in San Remigio, Antique will be transferred to southern Cebu to fill the void left by a company from the Regional Mobile Group (RMG).
Some 100 policemen from the RMG left Cebu during the ARMM elections but will have to stay on due to the hostilities.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Ronald Roderos said he sent Senior Supt. Jesus Gaquing, group director of the RMG 7, and Regional Intelligence Division Chief Melvin Ramon Buenafe to check on the RMG company now in North Cotabato Provincial Police Office.
They were also given another week’s rations and additional subsistence allowance, since Camp Crame did not order the recall of the troops.
“They are okay. They were in high spirits,” Roderos said of the policemen.
Central Command has been on red alert since Monday night, although Inserto assured it was only a precautionary action on his part to raise the alert level.
Roderos, for his part, said all his provincial and city commanders have been instructed to be on alert “to prepare for any spillover in Mindanao that may or may not happen here.”
“It is better to be prepared for any eventuality. Geographically, we are nearer to Mindanao,” Roderos told reporters in a separate interview.
Contact
He assured they were always in contact with Muslim leaders in Cebu and that they have been in constant coordination with them during special events such as the 12th Asean Summit and the Sinulog Festivals.
Roderos said that during their last meeting, Muslim leaders in Cebu have agreed to inform them if they have any new relatives or friends visiting from Mindanao.
Sultan Naif Punut, for his part, said they are monitoring their respective communities to make sure that new residents are in the city only for business and other legal purposes.
“Right now we’re only relying on the communities to report to us if there are new arrivals and what the purpose of their stay or visit is. You will not know about the new arrivals unless the communities inform us,” said Punut, who is the mayor’s consultant on Muslim communities.
So far, he said, he has not received any report of MILF members arriving in Cebu, or any of their relatives coming here.
“Definitely, we do not have MILF members here, or anyone who might have ties to them. Muslims who are visiting or staying are here for business,” said Punut.
There are around 5,000 Muslim residents in Cebu City, and around 15,000 in Metro Cebu.
In Cebu City, Muslim communities are in Barangays Ermita, Sikatuna, Lahug, Basak San Nicolas, Mambaling and Camputhaw. (MEA/LCR)
