Manila, Jan. 25 -- Philippine National Police (PNP) acting chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered strict monitoring and intensified intelligence-gathering to help deter terrorism-related recruitment and training in Mindanao.

Nartatez said they are constantly coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the country's intelligence community. He said strict monitoring is regularly done to preempt terrorists' plans.

"We treat all the information we receive seriously. And while there are already significant gains in improving peace, order, and development in areas in Mindanao that used to be the sites of armed conflict, we continue to monitor the situation on the ground with the help of our AFP counterparts,...