PRO-7 ready to secure arrested ‘rebels’

The Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 is ready to send an augmentation force, if necessary, to the detention facility where the six arrested alleged members of CPP-NPA rebel group are detained as a pre-emptive measure against retaliatory attacks.

"There is no reported request for augmentation. If there is, our forces there in Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) will provide security considering that they are NPA members," Superintendent Reyman Tolentin, spokesperson of PRO-7, said.

The six members were identified as, Myles Albasin, 21, a graduate of UP Cebu; Jomar Indico, 29; Joey Vailoces, 18; Randel Hermino,19; and two minors.

They were arrested last Saturday in Mabinay town of Negros Oriental after a brief encounter.

He added that the six will remain in jail despite calls of some militant groups of their release.

"They will be detained. They will have to face it squarely. Other groups are saying that they should be released. We cannot just do that. There was a valid arrest, cases were filed, and there was probable cause," Tolentin said.

Tolentin did not discount the possibility that some of their members might launch an attack.

But he stressed that the jail officers are armed and ready to fight back.

"Well, (the) Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is a government agency. They have a strong security and if they will attack the jail, they have to think twice because the jail guards are armed," Tolentin said.

The suspects were already charged in Dumaguete City for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

He added that based on the directives of PRO-7 director Chief Superintendent Robert Quenery, cops in every police station should counter-attack and "hold the line" during attacks by rebel groups.

He said commanders who surrender without a fight will be relieved from their post.

He added that PRO-7 has an on-going effort to gather intelligence informationin areas with positive presence of member of the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNew People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

Tolentin said that all provincial and city commanders are tasked to intensify patrols to ensure that mainland Cebu will continue to be insurgency free.

"We need to be alert and vigilant. We should keep Cebu, as it is, insurgency-free," Tolentin said.

Mae Clydyl L. Avila/MBG