| Local execs condemn MILF attack on Mindanao towns |
| Written by Eldie S. Aguirre | |
| Tuesday, 19 August 2008 | |
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Governor Douglas Cagas, the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) chairman for Southern Mindanao has urged the military and the police to keep a tight watch over all boundaries of Davao del Sur to avoid spillover of the atrocities in various parts of Mindanao.
Cagas asked all Muslims living in the Southern Mindanao not to extend support the group of people who are sowing havoc in Mindanao as he condemned the recent attack that suspected MILF members lodged against their fellow Mindanaoans.
“We are governed by laws. So, we must wait for the decision of the Supreme Court pertaining to the questioned MOA on the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE),” Cagas said.
The RPOC chairman said everybody will have nothing if we resort to war.
“But, don’t ever start doing trouble since the government and the armed forces of the country has its duties and responsibilities to protect the lives and properties of the people within its territory,” Cagas said.
Cagas said an emergency meeting with governors in Mindanao will be conducted somewhere in the Southern Philippines to thresh out problems on peace and order in the island.
On the other hand, Digos City Mayor Arsenio Latasa appealed to some groups that could be somewhere in the city to refrain from wrecking havoc to Mindanao, most specifically in Davao del Sur.
“We are living in harmony with our Muslim brothers in this part of the country. We allowed them to make a living a do business in Digos City as what we did to our Christian brothers. So, we have no reasons to fight each other,” Latasa said.
Nonetheless, Latasa encouraged all civilians to extend their support to the authorities by reporting any suspicious personalities, especially those who are armed so that the police and the military could immediately act on it.
“This is one way of preserving our peace and order in the community,” Latasa said.
The mayor admitted to have a very minimal number of policemen in Digos City short enough to watch over more than 200 thousand residents of the city.
In this regard, Lt. Col. Lnydon Paniza, commanding officer of the 39th Infantry Battalion (PA) sent an augmentation troop in the urban areas of the city to assist the police in any untoward incident, the mayor said. |