Negros Oriental Cop Chief Says Province Remains Safe for Tourists and Locals

Senior Superintendent Henry Biñas, Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) acting director, assured Tuesday Negros Oriental remains safe for tourists and locals alike.

Biñas reiterated the red alert status for the PNP remains in effect and the police in the province remain vigilant in the wake of the bombing in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur Tuesday, one day ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s scheduled visit there.

Nine people, including Presidential Security Group members, were injured in that roadside bombing incident.

“We will maintain and/or enhance our target hardening measures,” said Biñas.

Biñas said there is no cause for alarm for now as he urged everybody to be vigilant.

On Tuesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Region 7 conducted a simulated terror threat maritime and air exercise at the southern tip of Cebu and fronting Negros Oriental.

The Police Regional Office 7 (PRO) 7 and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (AFP-CentCom) based in Cebu City jointly spearheaded the simulated exercise (SIMEX) which was also participated in by the Philippine Coast Guard.

The scenario for the simulated exercise was a kidnapping at Oslob, Cebu, a tourist destination famous for its whale sharks.

Philippine Air Force helicopters took off and landed at the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport, the nearest airport to the SIMEX area, while Coast Guard and Navy boats were also deployed to the Tañon Strait between Cebu and Negros islands.

Police and Army personnel from Cebu also took part in the simulated exercise.

Lt. Col. Roderick Garcia, 79th Army Infantry Battalion commander based in Negros Oriental, said they were not part of it.

Sr. Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, PRO 7 deputy regional director for operations, said the simulated exercise is to test the operational readiness of security forces in the wake of terror threats, specifically kidnapping by threat groups like the Abu Sayyaf.

The simulated exercise covered stages from the acquisition of the information received, validation of such information, and onward to the actual deployment and response of land-based, maritime and air troops and assets, Lawas said.

He said activities undertaken during the simulated exercise will be reviewed during a debriefing and critiquing to determine which areas need improvement and enhancement.

Oslob, Cebu is among the places specifically mentioned in a travel advisory earlier issued by the United States Embassy Manila warning American nationals to take extra precaution when visiting there due to reports of terror groups planning to carry out their kidnap-for-ransom activities. (PNA)/EB/JFP/EDS