Davao police office raises security status after North Cotabato jailbreak

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 4): Davao police office raises security status after North Cotabato jailbreak

Davao City Police Office (DCPO) is now on heightened alert after the jailbreak by over a hundred inmates of North Cotabato Provincial Jail in Amas early morning Wednesday. This means there will be more random checkpoints in the city.

This was announced in Wednesday’s AFP-PNP Press Corps forum by spokesperson Sr. Inspector Catherine dela Rey, who said that inspection will be more strict to avert any incident arising from the jailbreak.

Armed men believed to be members of the Bangsamoro Independent Freedom Fighters (BIFF) stormed the North Cotabato Provincial Jail to free their comrades. Other inmates also took the opportunity to escape.

Dela Rey also asked the people to be on alert and report to the authorities any suspicious persons in their areas.

DCPO chief Sr. Supt. Michael John Dubria also said they have raised their guards in all exit and entry points of the city to prevent escapees cross the city boundary.

He ordered all units to be alert and harden targets. Davao City is just 3 hours away from the location of the District Jail of North Cotabato.

“We have strengthened our defenses so that they will be prevented to enter the city. At the same time, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 has directed the Davao del Sur Provincial Police Office to conduct round the clock checkpoint on the boundaries of Davao del Sur and North Cotabato area,” Dubria said.

He said that they are in close coordination with the Management of the District Jail of North Cotabato to gather the identification of the escapees.

Meanwhile, Task Force Davao Commander Col Erwin Bernard Neri said that the TFD has not let their guards down even after the holiday season for their counter terrorism activities.

“We did not downgrade the alert level of the city after the holiday season, we still continue all the security measures that we had implemented because of the high threat of terrorism in Mindanao,” he said.

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