BARMM cop chief visits Marogong, deploys more troops to protect civilians
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 16:30 PM Mon May 29, 2023
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By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza (3rd from left), police regional director for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) set foot in Marogong, Lanao del Sur and met with police and military forces to ensure civilians are safe from terror attacks
PARANG, Maguindanao Norte – More police forces have been deployed in Marogong and in nearby towns in Lanao del Sur to ensure the safety of civilians after the ISIS linked gunmen threatened to launch Marawi-like siege.
Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, police regional director for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), went to Marogong town Monday and assured local officials and civilians “the police are here to protect you.”
“I came over to ensure and monitor the peace and security of the area and conducted a consultative meeting with local officials,” Nobleza said in a statement.
He assured Marogong Vice Mayor Haroun Marohom of police and military presence in his town.
"We are here to address you security issues, we are securing Marogong,” Nobleza said.
His visit and the deployment of more police mobile forces units came after the ISIS group, led by a certain Commander Zacariah, the alias of Fajarudin Pumbaya Pangalian, the acknowledged amir or leader of Dawla Islamiya (DI) militants in the country threatened to launched terror attacks.
The group ordered the civilians to leave Marogong using a 2-way radio communication set. As a result, about 2,000 individuals have fled to nearby towns leaving few men to take care of their valuables since Friday night.
Commander Zacariah said the offensives will be carried out if the four ISIS members earlier nabbed by the MILF and turned over to the military with their firearms are not freed.
No attack was launched and soldiers but Nobleza said the police will stay in town to protect the civilians whether the ISIS link militants will make true its threats or not.
“The National Government, especially the leadership of the PNP, is very much concern about the security and safety of the people of Marogong, considering that the threat posed by DI-MG in this municipality is very eminent because of the pronouncement through the social media of the leader of DI-MG,” he said.
“We have deployed additional troops to oversee the peace and order in the area," Nobleza said.
Nobleza said many civilians have returned home but there are still few, especially women and children, who preferred to stay with their relatives in adjacent towns of Binidayan, Tubaran and Marawi City.
