By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran expressed skepticism in response to a report by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) claiming “car bombs” are allegedly being transported to Metro Manila from Mindanao.
“I think the report is false,” he said during yesterday’s press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC).
The vice mayor pointed out, if the terror plot is true, the report should have been released by a ranking commissioned officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and not a police officer with a rank of Senior Police Officer 4 (SPO4).
“I don’t think an SPO4 is authorized to make such a memorandum,” Familiaran explained.
However, Police Regional Office-18 (PRO-18) spokesperson, Police Senior Inspector Armilyn Vargas, said a law enforcement officer of any rank can issue such a memorandum, but only if he or she was appointed as “officer-in-charge” when the ranking officer is unavailable.
She explained, at the time of issuance, the PNP Maritime Unit office in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte may have been short on personnel.
“Considering some stations have a shortage of personnel, the next available ranking officer is eligible to issue any actionable items that need to be determined,” Vargas explained.
The PRO-18 spokesperson also validated the report, saying, the information had been disseminated to intelligence operatives and their counterparts in the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Highway Patrol Group (HPG).
She also clarified, the information was released on social media in order to deter the impending terror threat and to raise awareness among local residents.
Earlier, PCG-Bacolod commander, Lieutenant Jimmy Oliver Vingno, received intelligence claiming seven car bombs were being transported from Mindanao to Metro Manila.
Vingno explained the suspected vehicles are traveling through the Visayas islands using roll-on/roll-off vessels.
The vehicles reportedly being used as car bombs are a black Toyota Hilux (license plate: TO 4823), a white Nissan Sentra (UER 452), a black Toyota Land Cruiser (VIM 889), a black Honda Civic (KDY 462), a grey Toyota Vios (ZBM 340), a black Isuzu DMax (PIJ 139), and a black Toyota Innova (ZDT 395)./WDJ