NAME BARANGAYS WITH ARMED GROUPS

A city official urged police to identify the eight mountain barangays where armed groups are believed to be hiding.

Councilor Dave Tumulak said he is willing to talk with the leaders of the barangays and the armed groups.

Tumulak, who chairs the committee on public order in the City Council, said he does not want armed encounters to happen as the midterm election draws near.

By naming the villages, barangay officials will be given the chance to explain the presence of armed groups in their respective villages.

Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Royina Garma said they are still monitoring the barangays and should the situation worsen, she will recommend to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to place the barangays under the yellow code category.

A yellow code category refers to an area with occurrence of suspected election related incidents (ERIs) in the last two elections provided there was no participation of domestic threat groups; existence of intense political rivalry with no participation of domestic terror groups; possible employment of partisan armed group by the candidates in the area; occurrence of politically motivated ERIs in the current election period provided there is no participation of domestic threat groups or; the area has been previously declared under Comelec control.

Last week, CCPO personnel served a search warrant in Barangay Lusaran that led to the deaths of two tanods and a woman. The village chief was also arrested for owning unlicensed firearms. /