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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Thursday, June 22, 2017
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ILOILO City – Stay away from crowded areas.
Senior Inspector Sheila Mae Sangrines, spokesperson of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), gave this practical advice in the wake of social media warnings and text messages about a supposed plot of the Maute terrorist group to bomb this city.
“Waay sang may malain, likawan lang anay ang mga matawo nga lugar like malls, churches, hospitals and government vital installations,” said Sangrines.
The text messages and social media warnings needed verification, clarified Sangrines, but whether true or a hoax, the ICPO was taking them seriously.
“We appreciate the sincere vigilance of people in trying to warn others. This is what we need to keep our city secure,” Sangrines told Panay News.
One text message read, “PNP gid ‘ni ang source. Bag-o lng nag radyo. May nakasulod nga maute sa iloilo. Based sa intel may ipalukpon sila nga mall and public places sa june 30. Target areas: iloilo, negros, guimaras..plss do not post dis on fb ..eh direct messg or chat nyo lng sa friends kag family nyo.”
Senior Superintendent Remus Zacharias Canieso, city police director, urged Ilonggos to stay calm but vigilant, and not panic.
On Sunday, June 18, three suspected Maute group members — one of them believed to be a relative of the Maute brothers leading the local extremist group linked to the Islamic State — were arrested at the port of Iloilo. They were onboard 2GO’s Manila-bound MV St. Therese of the Child Jesus from Cagayan de Oro that had a stopover in Iloilo.
The following day, they were sent back to Cagayan de Oro City to face criminal charges for the Marawi City siege that started on May 23.
The text messages and social media warnings about the supposed bomb plot continued to spread even if the Armed Forces of the Philippines already dismissed the possibility of a spillover of the conflict in Marawi City into Western Visayas.
“There is a possibility of one or two making it through. But being able to do something in the scale of Marawi, we don’t think so. There could not be anything like that,” Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Restituto Padilla told Panay News./PN
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