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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Tuesday, June 20, 2017
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ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) imposed a curfew in Maasin, Iloilo following the New People’s Army’s (NPA) raid of the town’s police station on Sunday.
The curfew is from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and will last for a month, according to Mayor Mariano Malones yesterday.
He urged the people of Maasin to unite and shield the municipality from lawless elements.
“Let us help one another restore normalcy in Maasin,” said Malones.
The curfew will be lifted once the PRO-6 has determined that Maasin has become safe from further rebel attacks, said the mayor.
Malones dismissed insinuations that some residents may have colluded with the rebels. He blamed police intelligence failure for the Sunday’s raid.
He rejected the NPA’s claim that Maasin policemen were tolerating illegal gambling and illegal drugs, and denied being an illegal drugs protector.
“I challenge the NPA to present evidence,” said an emotional Malones after yesterday’s flag-raising ceremony at the Maasin municipal hall just a few meters way from the police station.
Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte accused Malones of being an illegal drugs coddler.
Malones said he willingly submitted himself to investigation by the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Department of Interior and Local Government and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
No drug-related charges have been filed against Malones.
“Kun gusto sang NPA mag-atubang sa akon, go ahead, maatubang ko sa ila. Pero ang ihambal nila sa radyo nga ang mayor sang banwa involved sa drugs, drug protector masakit pamatian na,” said Malones.
The mayor dismissed, too, the NPA’s claim that Maasin policemen were into extortion and their victims were poor vendors.
“If that were true, I would have received complaints from victims already. I am close to the vendors,” said Malones.
Right after the NPA raid, the PRO-6 sacked the entire Maasin police force.
“Maasin is a peaceful town. This may have led to the police’s complacency,” said Malones.
After the raid on Sunday, the PRO-6’s Regional Public Safety Battalion temporarily took over the Maasin police station but yesterday the Iloilo Police Provincial Office’s Iloilo Public Safety Company was tasked to man it with Senior Inspector Kent Jerek Capadosa as commander./PN
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