COTABATO CITY–Police and military authorities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have been placed on alert as Roman Catholics and other Christian faiths prepare to observe the Holy Week.
Police Regional Office (PRO) – ARMM director, Chief Supt. Graciano Mijares, has placed all police units across the Muslim-dominated region to be on alert since Monday.
Security plans have been implemented in ARMM communities where there are Christian religious activities. The ARMM is comprised of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
Mijares said their primary focus is Maguindanao, which has the largest number of Christian residents. He also lauded provincial and municipal peace and order councils in the region for cooperating with law enforcers to ensure the safe observance of Holy Week in their respective areas.
In the Soccsksargen region, which covers the provinces of North and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani; and the cities of Cotabato, Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal and Gen. Santos, police have been placed on alert status since March 20.
Chief Insp. Aldrin Gonzales, the spokesperson of PRO 12 (Soccsksargen), said that undercover personnel have been fielded in markets, terminals, and other busy spots in cities and provinces in Central Mindanao as part of the tightened security.
Plainclothes police personnel were also deployed in religious sites to ensure that the observance of the Holy Week is peaceful and solemn, including public places like plazas and public markets, Gonazales said.
Mindanao has been under martial law since May last year and the police in the island-region are closely watching areas, where elements of the Islamic State-linked Ansar Al-Khilafa Philippines were previously sighted. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
