By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) acting director Police Senior Supt. Jack Wanky confirmed yesterday there are 14 Maranaos now living with relatives in the city.
Wanky said the information is the result of the coordination the police made with village officials of Barangays 30 and 31, where most Muslims reside.
Despite orders from Police Regional Director Police Chief Supt. Edmund Gonzales, Wanky clarified they did not subject all evacuees to profiling. “What we do is selective profiling only to those we see or perceived as suspicious members or ‘persons of interest,’” he explained, noting they have yet to come across anyone who fits that description.
He further pointed out police station commanders have coordinated with local officials and personally met with some of the Maranaos who came forward seeking refuge with kin amidst Martial Law in Mindanao.
Wanky expressed their difficulties in qualifying if the Maranaos who have taken refuge here are truly evacuees.
He pointed out that it has to be established if these persons intend to permanently reside with their relatives, or if they are refugees so they could seek government support.
Wanky proposed this should be done by the local Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSSD) or the City Government.
“There are implications if we have to really qualify them, and we are not in the authority to classify them,” he added./WDJ