Lanao del Sur police chief relieved to give way to ‘new blood’

SECURITY CHECK A policeman holds a poster of wanted militants belonging to the Maute group as he mans a checkpoint set up along a road leading to Iligan City. Residents fleeing the clashes between government troops and militants in Marawi City are trooping to Iligan and nearby areas to ensure their safety. —AP

The police director of Lanao del Sur province has been relieved from his post amid the violent clash of government troops with Maute terror group members in Marawi City.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos confirmed on Tuesday that Senior Supt. Oscar Nantes, Lanao del Sur police provincial director, was relieved and will be transferred to Soccsksargen regional police office.

The movement in the Lanao del Sur police, however, was not caused by the ongoing crisis in Marawi City.

“The transfer and reassignment (of Nantes) will give a new frontier for SSupt. Nantes and challenge for the incoming officer-in-charge Supt. (Restituto) Lacano on a “hold over” capacity until the regular provincial director arrives,” Carlos said.

Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, regional director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police, said ARMM police welcomes “new blood” to the region.

At least 178 persons have been killed  since the clash erupted in Marawi last May 23.

Thousands of civilians were also trapped in the city as gun battle continues between the government forces and Maute bandits.

The PNP deployed over 500 mobile forces from the ARMM police’s Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB), Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and augmentation forces from the PNP’s elite unit Special Action Force (SAF). IDL/rga