Illegal drugs, personal grudge causes of Cotabato City crimes

COTABATO CITY - The Army Special Forces based here believed personal grudges, illegal drug trade and proliferation of guns were the leading reasons why crime against life has been increasing in the city.ColonelRanulfo Sevilla, 5th Special Forces Battalion commander, also noted that gun ownership is rising in the city.In August, the Cotabato City police office recorded 17 shooting cases with 17 deaths and four injured which was unusually high since January this year.As of August 31, 88 crimes involving guns were reported with 70 deaths and 33 injured, the city police statistics showed. We intensifycheckpoints in all crime prone areas in the city with the police as the lead agency, Sevilla told DXMS Radyo Bida. Senior Supt. Rex Anongos, city police director, was summoned by the City Council to explain why the crimes against life was on the rise in the city the past few weeks.Anongos said most of the cases were borne out of personal grudge or related to illegal drug trade.Both Sevilla and Anongos sought the help of the populace, saying law enforcers could not do it alone.