Police in Negros Oriental have been placed on full alert following a terrorist bomb attack on a bus in Manila last Tuesday that killed five people and wounded 15 others.
Sr. Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, provincial police director for Negros Oriental, said that Chief Supt. Ager Ontog, police regional director for Central Visayas, ordered all policemen in the region to be on the same alert level as policemen in the National Capital Region.
Lawas, however, assured the public in an interview with reporters, that there was no current threat in the province. “There’s always a possibility that similar terror attacks can happen here but it is part o the PNP’s job to take preventive measures,” he said.
In Dumaguete City, Lawas instructed the Special Weapons and Tactics team, the Public Safety Company and the Tourist Police to be more visible by patrolling the streets.
The Police are implementing an integrated patrol system, which has been tailored to address the crime situation in the province. Lawas said that statistically, crimes usually occur between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. so the policemen’s schedules have been adjusted accordingly.
“Please don’t be alarmed to find not as many policemen during other hours of the day,” Lawas said.
On the other hand, the police celebrated the 12th anniversary of the PNP last Wednesday by going on a civic action program at the Tubigon Elementary School in Sibulan. The policemen constructed a comfort room and painted a school building in the said school.
The Philippine National Red Cross also rendered blood typing services in the area.