COTABATO CITY – Short of declaring martial law, the regional and local government in Marawi City on Monday created a special task force to contain rising criminality which was capped by the murder of the city’s chief of police in broad daylight.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police regional director Chief Supt. Ronald Estilles, who has administrative and operational control over police in Marawi City, said “total gun ban” will be imposed in the Islamic city as one of the measures to prevent a repeat of such an incident as the killing of Marawi City police chief Supt. Abner Wahab Santos last Saturday.
READ: Marawi City police chief killed in ambush
“Once the city and provincial councils come up with an ordinance, gun ban will be strictly imposed,” Estilles said in a phone interview.
ARMM Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who presided a joint regional and provincial peace and order council meeting, said once the ordinance is in place, no police or military personnel are allowed entry if they have no mission orders, are in civilian attire and have no business in the city.
The Joint Task Force Ranao, composed of police, military and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), was organized to implement stricter law enforcement.
“Permit to carry firearms will be suspended within Marawi City,” Hataman said in a radio interview.
Estilles said heavily tinted vehicles which are common in Marawi City will no longer be allowed. “We will implement vigorously law enforcement operations and from now on, there is no let-up in our operation,” he added.
He also said that all vehicles’ license plates will be exposed and the use of “dimmed, tainted” plates is no longer allowed.
A police or Army officer in civilian clothes carrying firearms will be denied entry or will not allowed to roam around the city.
“The agreement is that all stakeholders must participate in our efforts to restore peace and normalcy in Marawi,” Hataman said.
Hataman and Estilles both said the death of Santos could be traced to his successful dismantling of big time illegal drug operators in the city.
“His death was due to his successful campaign versus illegal drug operators. He personally led in the campaign to rid Marawi of illegal drug pushers, users, peddlers,” Estilles said.
Santos was driving his black Mitsubishi Montero, and was heading back to the Marawi City police station from a command conference with Lanao del Sur police officers, when he was ambushed by gunmen on board a similar type of vehicle in Barangay Luksadatu in Marawi City on Saturday afternoon. Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao/CDG