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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Monday, June 26, 2017
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ILOILO City – It’s not enough to be on the defensive. The times call for offensives against the insurgents, said the new Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) director, Senior Superintendent Marlon Tayaba.
He ordered the police chiefs of 13 municipalities deemed vulnerable to rebel attacks to not only bolster their police stations’ defenses but more importantly, go after lawless elements.
The 13 towns were Maasin, Alimodian, Leon, Janiuay, Passi City, San Joaquin, Miag-ao, Guimbal, Igbaras, Tubungan, Bingawan, Calinog, and Lambunao.
On June 18, some 50 New People’s Army rebels raided the police station of Maasin and took firearms and ammunitions.
Do not be complacent, Tayaba told the police chiefs. Rebels have been sighted in the hinterlands of the 13 towns.
“Our police chiefs and their men should enhance their defenses and be on offensive mode. They should not stay inside their stations. They should make sure they have men outside monitoring the movement of people,” said Tayaba.
He also stressed the importance of enhancing the police intelligence network with civilians.
A “failure of intelligence” was how Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. described the rebels’ successful raid of the Maasin police station.
There was a “failure of communication,” too, between the police and the locals, according to the governor.
Tayaba, former director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Region 6, replaced Senior Superintendent Harold Tuzon as IPPO director on June 21, three days after the Maasin raid.
His most recent assignment was at the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as Public Safety Battalion commander.
During a visit to the Maasin police station on Friday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa urged townspeople for “mutual cooperation and protection” with the police.
He also reminded all other police stations of their responsibility to “fight till death once attacked.”
“I am very disappointed. They were nine on duty here (when the rebels attacked) but none of them fired a single bullet,” lamented Dela Rosa.
The raid was a chance for the Maasin policemen to prove their worth, said Dela Rosa, but they showed unwillingness to fight.
“Once you take oath as a police officer you must be ready to die anytime. Nagpulis ka pa kung talawan ka (Why be a cop if you’re a coward),” he said./PN
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