Police form task force to identify ambushers

ISABELA CITY, Basilan — The Basilan Police Provincial Office (BPPO) has formed a special task group to investigate the ambush incident involving soldiers of the 45th Infantry Batallion at the boundary of Tipo-Tipo and Al-Barka towns in this province on Monday morning

BPPO Director P/Col. Cerrazid Umabong said yesterday the Basilan Police Provincial Office (BPPO) has formed a special task group to investigate the ambush that occurred on Monday morning at the boundary of Tipo-Tipo and Al-Barka towns in this province.

Umabong said “We have formed a police special task group to identify the suspects in the ambushed incident that injured two soldiers of the 45th IB on Monday morning.

“Right now, we are still conducting hot pursuit operations against a band of about six persons who ambushed the soldiers at the boundary of Tipo-Tipo and Al-Barka towns, hoping to arrest them all,” Umabong said.

Additionally, he said, “We have also placed the entire police forces in Basilan Province on heightened alert status to avoid a similar incident to happened to anyone at any given time and place in the province.”

Umabong declined to identify the two soldiers’ victims of the ambushed incident, whom he just described suffered slight injuries in the incident.

As this developed, Umabong has ordered all 11 municipal police stations (MPS) in the province to conduct 24-hour checkpoints in their respective area of jurisdiction.

This is to ensure that the people in the province will be secured from any planned atrocities of lawless groups (should there be any) in the province, he said.

He also tasked all MPS in the province to intensify their campaign on loose firearms as part of their task on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW).

Umabong explained that the illicit proliferation of SALW can fuel armed violence and support illegal activities and the emergence of violent groups.

He urged all MPS in the province to confiscate at least one loose firearm every month as part of their accomplishment in their campaign on SALW program.