By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Philippine Army 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) commander, Major General Jon Aying, who was in Bacolod City yesterday for an inter-agency workshop, called the Islamic State (IS) a “clear and present danger,” however, noted there is currently no intelligence suggesting they are targeting the Visayas.
“It is very clear that IS is waging a global war,” he stated. “In London, in Iraq, there are continuing attacks; and then there is Mindanao.”
He explained, the terror group has the capacity to attract new members from the region, across a range of communities, but said authorities are seeking ways to prevent it from happening.
“It is a cause for a sense of security, not alarm,” Aying stressed.
The 3IB commander said the purpose of the workshop was to discuss establishing resiliency mechanisms, programs, and approaches addressing subjects like maritime security, which covers campaigns including anti-terrorism, internal security, anti-criminality, and anti-illegal drugs.
He said task forces will be created, which start from the provincial level and range all the way down to puroks and individual members of the community, with the purpose of identifying threats and channeling the information to the proper authority./WDJ