DAVAO CITY — Government security forces here are maintaining a high level of security after a tattered Philippine flag and a threat letter signed by “ISIS and NPA”, addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte and Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio were found inside a plastic bag that was abandoned in Quezon Park in front of City Hall on Wednesday.
“We have identified the person who might have placed said items,” Task Force Davao commander, Col. Nolasco Mempin, said Thursday, adding that investigation is underway.
However, Mempin dispelled suspicions that this was the handiwork of the New People’s Army (NPA), or any terror group for that matter.
Davao City Police spokesperson Senior Insp. Maria Teresita Gaspan said Friday a 62-year-old woman is under investigation as the prime suspect, who left the questionable items on a concrete bench in Quezon Park.
Gaspan said a certain Luisa Manlangit Datio, a resident of Barangay 76-A in Bucana, this city, was seen leaving the items at the park, based on a CCTV footage obtained by the police on July 12.
She said Daito, who is being held for further questioning, acknowledged that she was the one seen on the CCTV footage, but denied leaving the items at the park.
Police said a street sweeper of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) found the tattered Philippine flag and the handwritten note threatening the President and the mayor, while she was cleaning the park.
Written in Filipino, the note said the signatories are just around and they would tear the country apart just like the tattered flag.
The items were turned over to the San Pedro Police.
Mempin, however, clarified that there is no credible threat against the First Family although authorities are not taking chances.
“We are not lowering our guard down. All security forces remain on high alert 24/7,” the Task Force Davao chief said. (Rhoda Grace Saron/PNA)
