SAF may conduct border control

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jul 31, 2019): SAF may conduct border control

Additional Special Action Force troopers of the Philippine National Police who are due for arrival in Negros, are most likely to be employed in border control operations in the boundary of the two Negros provinces, Col. Romeo Baleros, Negros Occidental provincial police director, said yesterday.

More than 300 SAF troopers are arriving in Negros as announced earlier by PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde, and are expected to boost the manpower strength of the 6th Special Action Battalion of the PNP stationed in Sagay City, Negros Occidental.

Baleros said the arriving SAF troopers will be initially deployed in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, pending assessments by the battalion commander on where to deploy their with tactical value, and in coordination with other state security forces.

He added that he is not aware how many SAF troopers will be deployed in Negros Oriental.

Following the spate of killings in Negros Oriental, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office is now trying to seal off all possible entry points in the province.

Since the start of armed clashes in Negros Oriental, Baleros said he already started deploying blocking forces in the boundaries of the two provinces, with focus on the areas of Ayungon and Guihulngan City, where the center of gravity of the NPA operations is located.

We are trying to prevent the spill over of the enemy of the state to the province of Negros Occidental, he added.

In the Occidental side, the focus is Moises Padilla, which is a stone is throw away from Guihulngan, and the outskirt areas of La Castellana and Isabela, a portion of San Carlos City, and the CHICKS area, Baleros said.

Those who enter Negros Occidental will undergo intense screening, especially those crossing the mountains, with border control teams checking their identities, to prevent the entry of criminals to the province.

“We are on a preventive and pro-active action,” he said.

The Commission on Human Rights, meanwhile, expressed alarm over the spike in brutal killings in Negros Oriental.

In a statement it issued, the CHR, urged the government to properly investigate and take active measures towards putting a stop to the killings and finding the perpetrators, before more lives are needlessly lost.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2019/July/31/topstory8.htm