MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte did not mention anything about declaring martial law in Negros Oriental amid the spate of killings in the province, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said Monday.
Albayalde said Duterte’s instruction to the police and the military is only to end insurgency not just in the province but in other rebel – infested areas.
“Pero wala siyang sinabi (But he did not say) that he will declare martial law,” he said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
From July 18 to 27, or in just nine days, a total of 20 individuals have been reported killed in separate shooting incidents in Negros Oriental.
Albayalde said the killings could be part of the propaganda of the communist New People’s Army (NPA), aimed at discrediting state security forces.
“This is part of their propaganda, that they sacrifice their own and they blame government forces for it,” he said.
Michael dela Concepcion, secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Negros, earlier claimed that “the killings will be used as a pretext for declaring martial law.”
READ: 13 killings in 5 days stoke martial law talk in Negros
Albayalde said he also ordered the deployment of more than 300 police officers from the Special Action Force (SAF) to augment the local police in Negros Island.
“Ang sa amin naman, ang binibigay namin sa Presidente is (We only report to the President) what is happening. We don’t recommend anything as of yet,” he said.
The PNP chief also asserted that the security situation in Negros Oriental is not getting out of hand despite the spate of killings there. He even noted that the ambush and shooting incidents are only confined in the province and not in the entire Negros Island.
“But we know for a fact that meron talaga tayong matagal na problem of insurgency doon because of number one yung [issue on] ownership of land [na] madalas na tinetake advantage na issue ng leftist groups,” Albayalde said.
(But we know for a fact that we really have a history of the insurgency there because of number one, the issue on the ownership of land which leftist groups usually take advantage of.)
The NPA had owned up to the murder of four police officers in Ayungon town, but the local police said the group could also be responsible for other killings. /gsg
READ: NPA eyed behind spate of killings in Negros Oriental