ZAMBOANGA CITY— First district Rep. Celso Lobregat on Tuesday called on the local police and military authorities to stay vigilant amid the prevailing volatile peace and order condition of the region.
Lobregat’s call came hours after 11 people, including a suspected suicide bomber, were killed and five others wounded in an explosion at an Army detachment in Lamitan City, Basilan.
Lobregat said the local police and military forces should raise the alert level and augment forces tasked to secure all entry and exit points of this city.
“We cannot afford to become collateral damage of the acts of terror being perpetrated by lawless elements in the nearby provinces. All of us must be extra vigilant,” Lobregat said.
Lobregat said he will get in touch with the Western Mindanao Command and Task Force Zamboanga to discuss the security situation, as well as to ask to beef up the alert level in this city.
He commended the heroism of government forces, who “sacrificed their lives to protect the people.”
The fatalities of the bomb explosion included the suspected suicide bomber driving the van, a soldier, five militiamen and four civilians–three of whom are women and a child, who were dependents of the militiamen guarding the detachment.
The five wounded troops included an Army Scout Ranger junior officer, an enlisted man and three militiamen.
Lobregat also extended condolences to the bereaved families of the slain soldier and militiamen manning the checkpoint. (Teofilo Garcia, Jr/PNA)
