Cebu Ports Authority Told: Tighten Up Security of Town Docks

Cebu Gov. Hilario P. Davide III has urged the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) to tighten up harbor security especially the subports located in the municipalities to prevent possible entry of terror groups in light of the Marawi City incident.

As chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council in Central Visayas (RPOC 7), Davide raised concern over lax of security in town ports, the common entry and escaped point used by criminal elements and terrorists.

“We saw the need to step up our ports security because they are vulnerable especially the municipal docks where the CPA has fewer security personnel,” Davide said during the RPOC-7 special meeting on Thursday, June 1.

The RPOC 7 is composed of chief executives of local government units (LGUs), line agencies and the police and military.

“Nobleza was caught with improvised explosive devises and she was able to evade security at the port. We don’t want it to happen here. We have to be very vigilant and watchful,” Davide said referring to Police Supt. Maria Christina Nobleza who was captured by authorities in a checkpoint in Bohol late April several days after members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) clashed with government troops in Inabanga town.

Nobleza was arrested in the company of an alleged ASG member Ren-ren Dongon.

Currently, the Cebu Port System is composed of the Cebu Baseport and its subports which are located in different points of Cebu. The subports in Mandaue, Danao, Santa Fe, Toledo and Argao are within the jurisdiction of Cebu Port Authority.

These subports are smaller but are essential to flow of domestic inter-island commerce.

Davide,however, clarified that stringent security at the ports in the region bears no connection to the recent pronouncement of President Rodridgo Duterte over the possible suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in the Visayas.

“Martial Law or no Martial Law, our paramount concern is the safety of tourists, passengers and the people in the Central Visayas,” he said.

Moreover, Davide also advised mayors to tell their barangay captains to keep track of new faces arriving in their respective areas.

“We need to do our share by helping the authorities in the intelligence gathering,” he said.

Representatives of the Muslim community in Cebu including lawyer Yusoph Abbas of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and Sultan Ayaon Punut attended the council meeting. ( Kelvin Canizares)

cebu.gov.ph