By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Police Regional Office-18 (PRO-18) Director, Police Chief Superintendent Edmund Gonzales, ordered the entire regional police force on heightened alert status, following the attacks from the Abu Sayyaf and Maute Groups in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
PRO-18 spokesperson, Police Senior Inspector Armilyn Vargas, said Gonzales called for an emergency command conference following the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao.
She noted, the police director also expressed concern over a possible spillover of violence, especially in southern Negros, which directly faced the northern portion of Mindanao.
As of yesterday, Vargas said they have not received directives from national headquarters in Camp Crame, although they have taken the initiative of boosting security in the region.
She said the PRO-18 director ordered police forces in southern Negros to conduct more patrols along the coastline and have further boosted coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Navy (PN).
All units in the region have also been ordered to conduct an inventory of firearms, ammunition and other equipment, and they are reviewing the vulnerability of police stations.
When asked if there is a possibility that some PRO-18 reserves could be sent to Mindanao to reinforce government forces, Vargas said they have not yet received augmenting orders for the existing forces in Mindanao, although they are prepared for it.
Considering the proximity of the region, she said they are prioritizing the security of the Negros Island Region (NIR) first.
Vargas also pointed out, their intelligence networks are not monitoring any presence of “sleeper cells” from the Maute group operating in NIR, although she urged the public to report any suspicious individual or groups to police./WDJ