Sarmiento orders PNP to raise alert level after Zamboanga ambush

Interior and Local Government Secretary Mel Sarmiento has ordered the Philippine National Police to raise its alert status nationwide following the killing of Tungawan Mayor Randy Climaco and six others on the first day of candidacy filing on Monday.

In a text message to INQUIRER.net, Sarmiento said he instructed the PNP to heighten nationwide the alert level in all police units.

“(I) instructed the PNP to heighten nationwide the alert level. Deputy Director General [Danilo] Constantino will visit the area,” he said.

PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez said the PNP would reassess and check if the deployment of police in Zamboanga Sibugay was sufficient.

Marquez said in an interview that he asked Constantino, the PNP chief of the directorial staff, to head to the province to “assess police deployment there if it is good enough.”

Constantino confirmed to INQUIRER.net that he was on his way to check the security situation in the area.

Climaco was ambushed after filing his certificate of candidacy for vice mayor in his municipality. With Climaco was Vice Mayor Raup Arbison and six others, including a barangay (village) captain and Climaco’s driver. All six men were wounded after the incident that happened 5 p.m. on Monday.

READ: Zamboanga Sibugay town mayor killed, 3 wounded

But until the investigation was over, Marquez said police could not conclude yet whether the ambush was election-related.

“The investigation is still ongoing. Meron kaming proseso na tinatawag naming validation process to determine if an incident is indeed election-related or not,” he said.

Following protocols, Marquez said he did not want to be reckless in making any pronouncement until the validation process was done.

Weeks before the COC filing, the PNP chief instructed regional directors to deploy additional troops for increased police presence in urban centers where the Comelec regional offices were located.

“Except that in the case of Sibugay, it happened in a very, very remote place,” he said. Julliane Love de Jesus/RC