Some 120 police officers of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) 7 arrived in Bohol on Tuesday to augment local forces in maintaining peace and order in towns heavily hit by Typhoon Odette.
Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) spokesman Lieutenant Thomas Zen Cheung said the RMFB augmentation force will be deployed in Ubay, Talibon, Inabanga, Getafe, Bien Unido, Buenavista and Carlos P. Garcia.
According to Cheung, the team will secure areas that have been drawing large crowds in the aftermath of the onslaught of Typhoon Odette such as gasoline stations, banks, water refilling stations, public markets and charging stations, among others.
“Kinahanlan gyud naay police visibility anang mga lugara…Ang primary nila na duty jud is pabantayon sila, magprovide sila og security sa gasoline stations—kita bitaw ta na taas og pila—unya’g magkagubot adto,” said Chueng.
Cheung added that BPPO director Col. Osmundo Salibo requested Camp Crame for the deployment of the augmentation force.
The team was also deployed to prevent looting amid the reported panic buying and hoarding of basic commodities across the province.
“Ang atoa gyung gi likayan karon looting labina kay nagkanihat ang tanang supplies, kahibaw na ta asa na padung,” said Cheung.
Some police officers assigned at the BPPO headquarters in Camp Francisco Dagohoy were also deployed to various towns to augment municipal cops.
Meanwhile, police officers including Salibo will forgo their Christmas and New Year breaks.
“Naa may New Year breaker unya naa puy Christmas breaker sa atong kapulisan, na disregard na siya tungod sa aning nahitabo,” he said. (A. Doydora)