PNP postpones PRO-6 contingent deployment to Davao

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 confirmed that the planned deployment of its Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) contingent to Davao City has been temporarily postponed.

“[The contingent is] on reserve and must be ready for deployment anytime,” Brigadier General Jack Wanky, Western Visayas police chief, said.

He added that augmentation forces from nearby regions in Mindanao are currently deemed sufficient.

In addition to the police regional offices in Mindanao, personnel from Regions 3, 7, and 4-A have already been deployed to the area.

The CDM contingent from Region 6 was initially scheduled to depart from Iloilo on Tuesday evening. However, hours before their departure, the Davao Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 issued a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) related to a police operation at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City.

The PRO-6 contingent was supposed to join forces with the CDM unit from PRO-8.

PRO-6 had prepared 100 personnel for deployment to Davao City—half from the CDM unit of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) and the other half from the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO).

Brig. Gen. Wanky noted that they could send more personnel if needed. “We have 200 reserved CDM personnel if additional forces are required,” he said.

If deployed, PRO-6 personnel would assist in crowd control duties.