Army wants tighter security over 3 more Lanao towns
ILIGAN CITY—The military in Lanao del Sur has proposed the security reclassification of at least three towns in the run-up to the midterm elections.
Col. Noel Ian Ignes of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade and commander of Task Force Marawi stressed the need for heightened measures in Taraka, Sultan Dumalondong and Lumbayanague towns due to recent reports of violence and past incidents of election-related unrest.
Ignes proposed that Taraka’s security classification be upgraded from “yellow” to “red” because of a recent strafing incident.
Sultan Dumalondong is recommended to move from “orange” to “red” due to its history of election-related violence, while Lumbayanague will be upgraded from “yellow” to “orange” because of intense political rivalry.
In December last year, the Provincial Joint Peace and Security Coordination Committee classified 18 localities in the red category (areas of grave concern) due to a history of intense violence, such as shootings, grenade attacks and indiscriminate firing; nine in orange category (areas of concern); and another nine in yellow category (areas of potential concern) due to sporadic election-related conflicts.
The provincial capital Marawi City is among the areas in the red category.
The Army set up three election monitoring action centers across the province to coordinate efforts, monitor developments, and enable quick deployment of security forces when necessary.
In Lanao del Norte, the Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade (2MIB) has beefed up security measures for the elections.
Brig. Gen. Anthon Abrina, 2MIB commander, said at least 55 armored vehicles would be sent to its units in the province, in coordination with the Commission on Elections, the police and other branches of the military.
Abrina said they were also closely watching over security developments in the towns of Nunungan, Pantar, Poona Piagapo, Munai, Magsaysay and Kauswagan.
