By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Local police have tapped barangay officials to account for those evacuating Marawi City but have expressed concern over the willingness of the local Muslim community to assist authorities.
Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) acting director, Police Senior Superintedent Jack Wanky, yesterday said he is enlisting the help of barangay captains and kagawads in identifying individuals who have recently arrived in the province fleeing the violence in Lanao del Sur.
In a phone interview, Wanky said he ordered station commanders to validate reports of Marawi residents in Bacolod, beginning last Friday. He noted, his office is still waiting for confirmation from Ontao Sacar, a leading figure in the local Muslim community.
A reliable source living near the Muslim neighborhoods of Barangays 30 and 31 told Watchmen Daily Journal yesterday, as many as 100 evacuees may have already arrived and are staying with family members or friends.
When pressed about the authenticity of the report, Wanky said they are confirming the information, adding, the Muslim community is “uncooperative.”
“We have the information, but the problem here is the Muslim leaders are not confirming it,” Wanky stressed. “If this is the case then the coordination with them are also useless.”
The police director explained, the situation is what drove him to appeal to barangay officials for help, pointing out, it is they who should know if there are new faces in their respective areas.
Wanky lamented, they do not know why the Muslim leaders are not cooperating.
Earlier, the law enforcement official said he had coordinated with Sacar, but the latter did not confirm the report of the evacuees, promising to further provide the BCPO with the names of their roughly 1,200 community members, who are mostly Maranao traders.
There are also small Muslim communities living in the areas of Barangays Alijis and Mansilingan.
Despite the problems with coordination, however, Wanky reiterated evacuees are welcome to seek refuge here, provided they undergo screening to ensure suspected terrorists do not infiltrate the city./WDJ