ILOILO City – Some 200 personnel from the Philippine Army and the Philippine Navy are now in Boracay to help maintain peace and order during the island’s six-month closure.
Colonel Pio Diñoso, commanding officer of the Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade (IB) based in Dingle, Iloilo, said the augmentation will support security forces from the Police Regional Office 6 – currently the lead security agency in the island.
The augmentation forces are composed of 60 Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit personnel, 30 navy soldiers and 110 soldiers from the 12th IB based in Camp Monteclaro, Miag-ao, Iloilo.
“This closure is just more on the environmental issue. We do not want this to shift or escalate to a security one. We do not foresee that there will be security problems that will be encountered. It will be more on minor incidents like criminality,” Diñoso said on Friday.
The duration of the Navy and Army personnel’s stay in Boracay will depend on the “situation in the island.” But it will most likely be after the rehabilitation.
“We will observe first because we need to support the PNP (Philippine National Police),” Diñoso said.
Moreover, Diñoso assured that the deployment of the augmentation forces in Boracay will not affect security operations in the Army and Navy’s areas of coverage.
The additional security officers in the island are reserve personnel, said Diñoso.
The 301st IB covers the provinces in Panay and island province of Guimaras. (With PNA/PN)
