PNP on high alert for Holy Week break, NPA anniversary

MANILA, Philippines—In anticipation of the volume of travelers this Holy Week break, all police units in Luzon and Visayas are placed under heightened alert while Mindanao police units are on full alert amid continuous operations against lawless elements there.

The Philippine National Police leadership raised the alert level “to ensure maximum availability of personnel and resources for law enforcement and public safety operations” as the Catholic faithful observe Lent next week.

But in Mindanao, police units remain on full alert as the New People’s Army, the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, celebrates its 46th founding anniversary.

In a statement on Friday, PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. said concerned PNP units in Mindanao were “alerted against possible rebel-initiated hostilities” in connection with the anniversary of the communist NPA on Palm Sunday, March 29.

Meanwhile, in Luzon and Visayas, Cerbo said the heightened alert status had taken effect in regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas.

While the PNP leadership put the Luzon and Visayas units on high alert, Cerbo said directors in the said regions are given the discretion to elevate the alert status of their units depending on the “developing and emerging situation” in their areas.

The PNP said six police regional offices in Mindanao were asked to prepare for any eventualities as the CPP-NPA is known to “launch armed hostilities and offensive actions to highlight celebrations of significant events in the underground movement.”

In February, NPA rebels attempted to overrun Mati Police Station in Davao Oriental. Four soldiers and a communist guerilla died in the clash after the attack.

“All PNP unit commanders were reminded to maintain security in vital installations, economic key points as well as places of convergence and ensure high state of operational readiness to deter criminal activities and thwart any hostile actions that may be launched by threat groups,” Cerbo said. RC