CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—The government of Lanao del Norte has assured residents and visitors that the province is generally peaceful, and that the killing of Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas last week was an isolated case.
Perlas, 31, was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding men in Barangay Maranding Annex, Kapatagan town, as he was on his way home to Barangay Maranding in Lala town from a medical mission in the municipality of Sapad, all in Lanao del Norte.
Perlas was one of the physicians hired by the Department of Health under the Doctors to the Barrios program. He had been Sapad’s municipal health officer for more than five years.
But Gov. Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo allayed fears of conflict that might escalate from the shooting incident, as she advised Senior Supt. Faro Antonio Olaguera, the provincial police chief, to give the case “special treatment.”
Lanao del Norte is also hosting a Philippine Basketball Association out-of-town game later this month, hence Quibranza-Dimaporo’s assurance.
Provincial information officer Lyndon Calica said PBA teams Star Hotshots and Global Port will play at the Mindanao Civic Center Sports Complex in Barangay Sagadan, in Tubod town, on March 25.
The province is also preparing for the annual “Araw ng Lanao” to be held this July, Calica added.
The governor said she instructed Olaguera to organize a special task group, including the police chiefs of Kapatagan, Lala and Sapad, to focus on identifying the perpetrators and solving Perlas’ murder right away.
She said the police chiefs could help gather information that could be used to track down the suspects and bring them to justice.
“He went even to the remote barangays in Sapad and he was loved by the people there. His death was a great loss to the province,” Quibranza-Dimaporo said of Perlas.
The governor said Perlas’ death “was not a common occurrence in Lanao del Norte” as the province is still a peaceful place and that people “don’t have to worry about” the peace and order situation there.