ILOILO CITY – Mayor Mariano Malones of Maasin, Iloilo on Wednesday called for the return of 23 relieved police officers to their posts to help provide security following recent sightings of suspected New People’s Army (NPA) in one of their villages.
While some of the relieved policemen are native of their town, Malones believe that they would be a big help in identifying the NPAs.
It can be recalled that 23 policemen of Maasin town police station were relieved from their posts after communist rebels raided their station last June 18.
“As of now, our policemen are having a hard time identifying if the people they meet are enemies or not because they are new to the place,” he said.
Malones added that he had raised the concern to Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. and asked for help in lobbying to the Police Regional Office (PRO) in Western Visayas for his request for temporary reassignment of the relieved policemen.
“I already talked to the governor regarding our concern so that we could provide peace of mind to our residents,” he said.
He also requested the provincial government to support his proposal to train all the village watchmen in their town to improve their skills in providing information, especially on the sighting of NPAs in their respective areas. (PNA)
