The 48 police stations across Bohol have been directed to adopt defense measures in the wake of the New People’s Army (NPA) attack on a police precinct in Misamis Oriental injuring four cops last week.
The order was issued by Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) director Sr. Supt. Felipe Natividad as counter measure against possible entry of NPA guerillas to the province, said Supt. Jonathan Satentes.
According to Santentes who is a BPPO operations officer, alertness against insurgency has been boosted ever since peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) broke down.
The Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the NPA, have also been declared as terrorist groups by President Duterte earlier this week.
Santentes admitted that while Bohol remains insurgency-free there is big possibility that NPA forces from adjacent Negros, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao will flee to the province.
The intensified campaign against the now-terrorists in these locations would likely force them to retreat towards areas such as Bohol, he said.
However, Natividad earlier noted that the BPPO has long been prepared for any attack ever since Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits infiltrated the province in mid-April and neutralized a little over a month later.
“It’s continuous that we’re reminding all the police stations to be [alert]. Ever since the Abu Sayyaf intrusion, we never let our guard down,” Natividad said in Filipino and English.
The BPPO’s intelligence network, which was crucial in crushing the 10-man ASG unit that infiltrated Bohol in April, has also been strengthened particularly in coastal areas, he said.(RT)