BAYBAY CITY- A top military official cautioned the public not to believe on report of a presence of a liquidation squad purportedly operating in Leyte.
Brigadier General Francisco Mendoza, commander of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, issued this call after he received an information that a businessman from Ormoc City received a phone call telling him that he would be killed.
“These are all scams. I urge those who received this kind of calls to ignore them and if they feel that they are threatened, they must call security agencies like the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army to report the incident (and) for sure they will be able to help you,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza added that even the members of the New People’s Army in Leyte have “no capability to impose active threat” to businessmen.
“We would like to maintain it that way so that our economy will not suffer,” the Army official stressed.
“With development comes peace and with the project comes peace. We cannot achieve peace and development if there are extortionists bringing disorder to our business community,” Mendoza added.
He also added that the public should also be cautious in spreading text messages or information in social media pertaining to the presence of armed groups if these are not validated by the law enforcement authorities.
Mendoza particularly refers an incident wherein they received information that the people in the third district in Leyte expressed their alarm due to the alleged presence of armed group said to be members of the New People’s Army.
“These are just false information that was created to sow terror or create panic in the minds of the people for reasons that they can only explain,” Mendoza concluded.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
