Home 
A burst of gunfire and a phone call that was suddenly cut off sent Cebu City police units rushing to barangay Gaas, Balamban town, western Cebu early morning yesterday.
The gunfire turned out to be part of a three-day police exercise.
The simulated ambush by trainees of the Regional Training School (RTS) in Central Visayas was mistaken for a real encounter.
Operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) -Cebu City and Balamban police rushed to barangay Gaas after receiving a report that policemen on board a mobile patrol were ambushed past 7 a.m. News reporters joined the chase.
Senior Insp. Ramon Landingin, chief of RTS non-academic course, said it was the second day of the excercise for a safety senior leadership course involving 50 trainees and 15 RTS staff.
Landingin said they informed the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas, Cebu Provincial Police Office, Balamban and Asturias police about the activity to avoid causing alarm and panic among the residents.
His deputy, Insp. Wilfredo Alarcon, said the misunderstanding was traced to the phone call of a wife of a trainee. She heard gunfire in the background and the call was suddenly cut off, prompting her to report it to the Mobile Patrol Group.
