Alert up vs terror threats in Mindanao

From the Sun Star-Cagayan de Oro (Feb 14): Alert up vs terror threats in Mindanao

CAGAYAN de Oro City and other parts of Mindanao are under threat from attacks by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), two weeks after the signing of the peace agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine Government, police said.

Police Chief Inspector Lemuel Gonda, Cagayan de Oro City Police Office’s (Cocpo) chief on operations, said the police officers in the city are under alert status due to the threat posed by the BIFF, a breakaway group of the MILF, the largest Moro insurgency group in Mindanao.

Gonda said the threat is not only in the city but has been raised in the entire Mindanao.

The information has come from the intelligence community and it is reliable, Gonda said, adding that the police are regularly guarding the safety.

But because of the threat, the police doubled their security measures especially on the strategic checkpoints where possible perpetrators would come through.

Gonda said that after the signing of the peace agreement between the MILF and the government, the military augmented its forces to Cocpo to assist in ensuring the security of the city.

Gonda said Cocpo will remain vigilant and cautious in public places.

“Malls, churches, hotels, inns, terminals and seaports -- these are the places that we should focus on,” said Gonda.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2014/02/14/alert-vs-terror-threats-mindanao-328270