Police arrested eight security guards in what appears to be another case of hostile takeover of land and properties at the world famous Boracay Island in Aklan.
Police Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao, Jr., officer-in-charge of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the eight persons barged inside the Cerca Hotel on Saturday and forced assistant manager and other staff to immediately vacate the property at gunpoint.
This prompted the staff to flee and seek assistance from the Malay Police Station which has jurisdiction over Boracay.
Police Lt. Col. Don Dicksie De Dios, chief of police of Malay Municipal Police Station, said he immediately ordered the deployment of policemen in the area based on the complaint of the hotel staff about the presence of armed men in the property.
He identified those arrested as Conrad Ilagan, Jomar Solano, Roqui Tumbagahan, Gardie Maming, Carlos Ingo, Jomar Guevarra, Mel Jhon Fernandez, and Baldonero Torres.
Based on the complaint of the hotel staff, a man later identified as Guevarra barged inside the hotel in civilian clothes, drew a short firearm from his sling bag and pointed the gun at them.
De Dios said that when the hotel staff went back a few minutes later, they saw another man, identified later as Ingo, changing from his civilian clothes to a security guard uniform.
Police then went to the area ands resulted in the arrest of the eight security guards. Seized from them were a 9mm pistol and a shotgun.
"Those armed suspects posed threat not only to the hotel staff, but also to the guests. We laud the quick action of our police personnel that prevented the situation from escalating and nobody was harmed," said Danao, for his part.
"Investigation is underway to determine the background and motive of the suspects," he added.
De Dios said charges of grave coercion and illegal possession of firearms were already filed against the suspects.
Modus
Land-grabbing using armed men is common at the Boracay Island over the years, which prompted President Duterte to intervene and ensure that the rights of the natives are protected.
The modus that is usually being employed is to hire security guards who would force their way into the property and would threaten the occupants to leave. As soon as the occupants of the property leave, the security guards would then take over to secure the seized property.
In order to ensure that contain violence, the local government of Malay issued an ordinance which prohibits hostile takeover of land and the deployment of security guards.
Before security guards are deployed in any property in Boracay, they have to secure a permit and clearance first from the LGU and the local police.
In the case of what happened at the Cerca Hotel, the arrested security guards failed to present any document that would justify their presence.