PNP won’t recommend martial law in Negros Oriental for now
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac (Photo by Cathrine Gonzales / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday that for now, it cannot recommend martial law in Negros Oriental amid the string of killings there, since the security operations being implemented by state forces are enough to maintain peace in the province.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said, however, that the police will still assess the situation in Negros Oriental if violent incidents erupt there again.
“Hindi natin masasabi or mairerecommend sa ngayon dahil nakikita natin na kontrolado naman ang kalagayan doon, subalit maaring maging iba ang assessment ng ating mga political leaders,” he said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
(We cannot recommend it now because we see that the situation there is under control, but the assessment of our political leaders might be different.)
He said that if the PNP will be asked for input on martial law, it will base its assessment on data on crime incidents recorded in the province. “Base sa crime incidents ay under control ito (Based on data on crime incidents, the situation is under control),” he said.
The police official also explained that the situation in the province is now becoming normal after over two weeks since the death of four intelligence officers in Ayungon town on July 18 — the first in the spate of killings in Negros Oriental.
“Sa ngayon nakikita natin na sapat na ang peace and order campaign na isinasagawa sa Negros (As of now, we see that the peace and order campaign we are implementing in Negros is enough),” said Banac.
Three of the arrested persons are so far being considered suspects in the murder of intelligence officers. They are Victoriano Bangala Anadon Jr., arrested on July 19 in Ayungon, and Jojo Torres Ogatis and Edmar Amaro, both arrested on Saturday in the same town.
Three other suspects were also arrested in Badian, Cebu on July 31 but police are still investigating if they indeed had a hand in the crime.
A company of Special Action Force (SAF) has been deployed to Negros Oriental to augment the local police in the province. A SAF company is composed of 60 to 80 officers.
Two more SAF companies will be deployed to the province in the coming days. /je
