KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/29 October)—Police in Southwestern Mindanao have strengthened security measures in preparation of next week’s observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, a top police official today said.
Chief Supt. Gil C. Meneses, Southwestern Mindanao police director, said their intelligence unit is closely working with the military to prevent possible attacks.
He said he has ordered the field commanders to maintain a high level of operational readiness for the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day on
November 1 and 2, respectively.
The police official said that checkpoints would continue in strategic areas also as part of the security preparations for the All Saints Day and All Souls Day in the area.
Southwestern Mindanao covers the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
Tightened security measure was put in place across the region following the deadly blast last November 21 in Matalam, North Cotabato, which killed 10 people and wounded many others.
At least two people were charged for the explosion on a Rural Transit Bus while traversing towards Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province
from Cagayan de Oro City.
The Matalam bus explosion broke the lull in bomb attacks in Central Mindanao, the region with the most number of bomb attacks in the
country since 2000.
Meantime, heightened security measure in the region resulted to the apprehension of 28 individuals for violating the gun ban for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataang elections, Meneses said.
Twenty-four of these persons have been charged in court while the four others were still under investigation, police records showed.
Of the suspected gun violators, two are policemen and two others are soldiers, Meneses said.
Fifty-seven people were arrested across the region for violating the liquor ban observed during last Monday’s election, he added. (MindaNews)
