Army officer asks public to be aware, get involved

From the Mindanao Times (Aug 6): Army officer asks public to be aware, get involved

The military urged the public to be more vigilant in providing information after a bomb exploded in Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato City which killed eight and injured 40 people last Monday afternoon.It was the second bomb explosion in less than two weeks after the Limketkai Rosario Arcade in Cagayan de Oro City on July 26, which killed eight and injured nearly 50 people.

Maj. Gen. Ariel Bernardo, 10th Infantry Division commander, said that people should get involved in order to thwart terror attempts.

“In this entire effort of identifying, locating, deterring, denying, and disrupting the (terrorist) plans, it doesn’t only involve security forces but everyone,” Bernardo told the TIMES in a phone interview. “We have to utilize everyone to join the effort with the police,” He added.

Bernardo asked for support and coordination of the people, saying they want to have a “person-to-person” interaction among key players.

Aside from the additional help of citizens, Bernardo said their efforts have now shifted to expanding their intelligence networks in nearby areas, which include Kidapawan, Panabo, and Digos cities.

 He added that they are also closely coordinating with the 6th ID in Cotabato.

“We should have that kind of networking to sense any developments. We need to have some inter-connectivity as far effort is concerned, not just by focusing on themselves and their own areas,” He said.

Col. Casiano Monilla, Task Force Davao Commander, said they are intensifying checkpoint operations, as well as their intelligence monitoring of threat groups in Mindanao.

“We should not be alarmed by be more vigilant as terrorist do not discriminate on their victims. We do not monitor any report that Davao City is directly being targeted.

However, we should not lower our guard,” Monilla told the TIMES in a text message.

Earlier, Monilla said there is a need for a more thorough inspection at the checkpoints.

He added there were instances when vehicles were not properly checked due to traffic congestion especially during rush hours. “The tendency here is that the inspections are going to speed-up. We really need to check every vehicle that passes our checkpoints,” he added.

http://www.mindanaotimes.net/army-officer-asks-public-to-be-aware-get-involved/