Local police keep tabs of anti-US sentiments after Soleimani killing
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur –– The local police here are keeping a close eye on possible anti-American sentiments that could turn violent following the killing of Iran’s top military commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike by the United States.
Soleimani’s remains are set for burial Tuesday, in his home city of Kerman in southeastern Iran.
Colonel John Guyguyon, deputy police regional director for the Zamboanga Peninsula, said there might be reprisals from extremist groups from nearby provinces, as sentiments against the US grow.
“Although we observed strong respect among people here, there are extremist groups … that may influence and agitate others, so we keep our monitoring, and we have Salaam police personnel doing regular rounds in different communities, to diffuse, if there are related sentiments like this,” Guyguyon explained.
Salaam (which stands for peace) cops are carefully selected police personnel who can speak local dialects.
They are deployed to various communities to hold dialogues among villagers and to organize locals to be part of the peace multipliers to counter radicalization campaigns by extremists.
Guyguyon said they were closely watching the security of foreign nationals in the city.
They also keep watch of any unusual social media behavior such as agitation to radicalization.
“We are confident that our Salaam cops are doing their best in the communities. (If there is) anything unusual, our Salaam cops go down to the roots of the issues, they engage in dialogue,” Guyguyon said.
Meanwhile, Zia Alonto Adiong, a member of the Bangsamoro interim regional parliament, expressed concern about possible severe consequences for the Philippines should a full-blown conflict arise between the US and Iran as a result of Soleimani’s killing.
He worried that if Saudi Arabia is targeted for retaliatory strikes by Iran or its paramilitary allies, a big number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) could lose their jobs in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is a leading destination for Mideast-bound OFWs, many from the Bangsamoro region, and is among the top sources of remittances that help the local economy.
Adiong said he hoped a contingency plan could be drafted soonest by the national government in response to the possibility of another episode of war in the Gulf region./lzb
