Iligan cop chief: Threat level remains high

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 24): Iligan cop chief: Threat level remains high

More than three months after the armed conflict in Marawi City, the threat level in the neighboring city of Iligan remains high, the city's chief of police said Thursday.

Senior Supt. Leony Roy Ga, Iligan city police director, said local authorities are still on high alert following advisory from the Philippine National Police (PNP) high command.

While armed extremist fighters are still engaging the government forces in Marawi, Ga cited credible reports of suspicious persons mingling with the evacuees.

“We receive intelligence reports from time to time, and we have to verify their veracity. But just the same we remain on alert,” Ga said in an interview at the sidelines of the awarding ceremony held at the PNP-10 headquarters at Camp Vicente Alagar in Barangay Lapasan on Thursday.

Ga and the Iligan city police office are both awardees of the PNP. Ga was adjudged as the Best Senior Police Commissioned Officer for Operations, while his office was awarded with the Best City Police Office.

The awarding ceremony was graced by Deputy Director General Ramon Apolinario, the deputy chief PNP for Administration.

He said the donation of 10 Vios patrol cars and 14 pick-up trucks from the local government had boosted the morale of that city’s police force owing to their all-out anti-crime operations.

Ga said the patrol cars are being used for urban police visibility while the pick-up trucks for securing the city’s boundaries it shared with Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental.

With the influx of internally displaced persons from Marawi, he said the Iligan city police are always on the lookout for possible terrorists.

“In light of the Marawi conflict, we are doubling our efforts. Even during the start of the Marawi crisis, we had already anticipated that the next target is Iligan,” he said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1007405