The Army and police together with the local Muslim leaders in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental discussed taking proactive measures to prevent terrorism in the province following the bombing at Mindanao State University in Marawi City on Sunday, Dec. 3.
The Bacolod City Police Office, Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office, and Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division officials together with Muslim leaders, including the Salaam Police Advocacy Group, met to discuss the issue at the BCPO Headquarters on Tuesday.
BCPO Director, Col. Noel Aliño, said that they discussed proactive measures concerning the latest bombing incident that transpired inside the MSU-Marawi campus.
Aliño also said that the participants also discussed means to strengthen their partnerships to combat terrorism and other forms of crime and violence in Bacolod City.
Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, 303rd Brigade commander, said that he is thankful to the Muslim community for their trust in joining them in preventing the possible entry of terrorist groups into Negros Island.
“We are thankful for our Muslim community’s willingness to cooperate and to assist us, especially in monitoring and preventing the entry of potential perpetrators,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3ID commander, also said that the event provided them avenues to coordinate with the Muslim community.
“With this mechanism put in place, I am more confident that potential terrorists would find a hard time to carry out terror attacks as everyone is already on their toes monitoring and looking for them,” he added.*