Cebu cops on alert for terror group

CEBU CITY—Cebuanos have been advised to be vigilant after the police received reports that from four to six members of the Abu Sayyaf arrived in the city over the weekend.

Supt. Julian Entoma, chief of the Regional Intelligence Division, said the group led by Commander Alhabsi Misaya reportedly went to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental before proceeding to Cebu on Saturday.

Police could not determine where the group was holed up in Cebu. They were either in Cebu City or Talisay City, investigators said.

Entoma said that police intelligence showed the terrorgroup was planning to abduct foreigners and prominent personalities and bomb malls and other establishments in Cebu.

“The police has been on alert since Friday night. After receiving the report from our counterparts in Mindanao, we immediately alerted our teams and the security officers of the malls, lodges and beaches,” said Entoma in an interview.

The police also sought the help of the Muslim community in Metro Cebu in monitoring the Misaya group.

On Sunday, Entoma said the police regional office in Zamboanga City reported that Misaya’s group was seen in the area and that its members might have left for Cebu.

“But we are not certain whether all six members returned to Mindanao. We nevertheless continue to monitor,” he said.

Photographs of Misaya were distributed to different police stations in Cebu as well as in malls and other business establishments to alert security officers and mallgoers and help avert the plot of the group.