Deployment of commandos to boost anti-kidnapping campaign in Central Mindanao–PNP chief

Philippine National Police Director General Nicanor Bartolome. Danica hermogenes/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome said the deployment of commandos as part of a joint police-military task force in central Mindanao would boost the government’s campaign against kidnapping syndicates and other lawless elements in the
region.

He expressed confidence that the reactivated Joint PNP-Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Task Force Ranao would be able to wage a sustained law enforcement campaign to establish order and the rule of law in central Mindanao.

“Task Force Ranao… manifests the strong-willed response of the national leadership to harness the combined might of the PNP and AFP into a formidable force that will lock horns with criminal syndicates, armed groups and threat organizations behind the rash of kidnapping incidents in Cotabato City and other provinces of Central Mindanao,” he said.

On Thursday, officials led by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, AFP Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban Jr. and Bartolome formally reactivated Task Force Ranao in Marawi City.

The objective is “crucial collaboration among the police and military to establish an atmosphere of peace and stability in the southern Philippines,” officials said.

The creation of Task Force Ranao is contained in the Joint PNP-AFP Letter of Instruction No. 01-2011 formalized by the PNP and AFP in May on orders of President Benigno Aquino III to stem the rising tide of kidnapping cases in Central Mindanao.

In a statement, Bartolome said the police component of Task Force Ranao would field commandos of its elite response unit, the Special Action Force, and the Regional Public Safety Battalions of Police
Regional Office 12 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to “form the muscle.”

On the other hand, intelligence and investigative support will come from the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response and the Intelligence Group, backed by a legal offensive component from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the PNP Legal Service.

Chief Superintendent Francisco Cristobal, deputy director for integrated police operations in Western Mindanao, was named task force commander, with Colonel Daniel Lucero, commander of the Army’s 104th Brigade as his deputy.

Bartolome, who served 11 years in combat duty as a junior officer in Central Mindanao, said the reactivation of Task Force Ranao manifests the commitment of both the police and military establishments to lay the foundation of peace and order in Mindanao.

“Alongside local government and community support, police-military partnership has long been part of a tried and tested formula in addressing peace and order concerns – proven effective on countless occasions in law enforcement and public safety campaigns,” he said.