POLICE authorities have placed Northern Mindanao under heightened alert following the deadly blast that killed two suicide bombers and three soldiers and wounded nine others in Indanan, Sulu, Friday, June 28.
Police Regional Office (PRO)-Northern Mindanao Director Rafael Santiago Jr. ordered preemptive security measures be set up in police checkpoints across the region to thwart possible terror attacks.
"We are implementing strict security protocols not only on police checkpoints but on our regional borders to ensure the safety of the public in relation to the Sulu attack," Santiago said in a press statement.
Santiago also directed police commanders on the ground to undertake target hardening measures, beef up police presence on the streets and conduct security measures to preempt attacks on vital installations and places of convergence.
PRO-Northern Mindanao spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Surki Serenas said there is no terror threat for the region and that Santiago's order is for the police force to remain alert and vigilant to maintain peace and order in the region.
Meanwhile, in compliance with Santiago's directive, a series of police operations was launched anew in Cagayan de Oro City and resulted in the arrest of 52 wanted personalities for various charges, drug personalities and minor offenders.
Records from the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) showed some 21 drug personalities were nabbed, seven people were apprehended for gambling violations, 10 persons were arrested by virtue of arrest warrants for various offenses and 14 minor offenders.
"This operation is not only focused on criminality. We have also stepped up this campaign to prevent terror threats," Cocpo OIC-director Lieutenant Colonel Reynante Reyes said.