Negros Or. to create task force vs criminality

CEBU, Philippines - The Negros Oriental provincial government is now set to organize a task force to solve criminality and respond to emergency situations in the province.

Colonel Alan Martin, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, confirmed this plan after meeting earlier this week with Governor Roel Degamo and officials of the police, the military, the Coast Guard, NBI, CIDG, PDEA, maritime police, highway patrol group and the Aviation Security Command, among other law enforcement units.

Martin said the task force, which will be headed by the governor who will direct every component agency, will start operation next month when the province celebrates the Buglasan Festival.

The task force will react to emergencies in consultation and coordination with all security forces to prevent a situation where every unit is sending separate teams to a single problem.

Martin said coordination is of paramount importance in reacting to certain emergencies because all of them are also vulnerable, and it would be better for the task force to be in place instead of reacting only after an incident.

The creation of the task force developed after Degamo got reports from security forces about armed groups, from Mindanao, allegedly massing up in Bais City and the southern part of Negros Oriental for unknown reasons. The governor had already directed the intelligence community to validate the report.

The report reaching Degamo stated that in Bais City, at least 14 former members of the Rebolusyunaryong Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade were still armed with long firearms, and suspected to be under the payroll of certain personalities in the area. —Juancho R. Gallarde (FREEMAN)