THE police regional command in Northern Mindanao has ordered all its units within the region to strengthen and intensify their intelligence monitoring following the escape of 23 inmates from Marawi City jail on August 27.
Eight of the freed prisoners are believed to be members of the Maute group, a local terrorist cell, who were arrested when the vehicle, laden with pieces of improvised explosive device and other items, they were riding in was intercepted by authorities in Lumbayanague, Lanao del Sur, a few days ago.
Cagayan de Oro was said to be one of the targets of the terror group.
“These escapees pose serious threat to public safety and must be prevented from sowing further terror,” said Chief Superintendent Noel Constantino, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Northern Mindanao, in a statement released to media Sunday, August 28.
Constantino has instructed police on the ground to conduct checkpoint to constrict entry of said terror groups in Northern Mindanao.
In a report by the PNP, heavily armed men wielding rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, AK-47 and M16 rifles, and other high-powered weapons, attacked the Lanao del Sur provincial jail in Marawi and freed eight of their companions.
Police said the attackers used four get-away vehicles, including a truck owned by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) that was abandoned at the lakeshore along Barangay Calocan in Marawi City, while withdrawing to unknown direction on board motorboats.
Constantino has reminded the public to be extra vigilant as he sought people to rally behind the PNP in its fight against terrorism.
“Rest assured your PNP is doing our best in coordination with the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] and other government agencies to neutralize this terror group in this part of Mindanao,” Constantino said in a statement. (With reports from Richel V. Umel and Alwen Saliring/SunStar Cagayan de Oro)