The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has not received any reports of violence or looting in Central Visayas following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the region.
The tremor hit 19 kilometers northeast of Bogo City in Cebu province on Tuesday night.
‘Fortunately, there have been no reports of gender-based violence or looting incidents in the aftermath of the earthquake,’ PNP Directorate for Police Community Relations Deputy Chief Brig. Gen. Antonio Marallag Jr. said during a briefing at Camp Crame on Thursday.
Marallag also said that the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO 7) increased its deployment from 1,356 officers on Wednesday to 2,250 officers on Thursday to support recovery efforts.
He added that the PNP’s Reserve Standby Support Force also deployed 312 personnel from PRO 7, 116 from PRO Eastern Visayas, and 112 from PRO Negros Island Region to strengthen the police response.
According to the latest situational report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Thursday morning, at least 72 people have died and 294 were injured.
The NDRRMC said these casualty figures are yet to be validated.