Skip to main contentdfsdf

Home/ stevenwarran's Library/ Notes/ October 13, 2003, The Philippine Star, Security in Metro beefed up, by Non Alquitran,

October 13, 2003, The Philippine Star, Security in Metro beefed up, by Non Alquitran,

from web site

names

October 13, 2003, The Philippine Star, Security in Metro beefed up, by Non Alquitran,

A week before the Oct. 18 visit of US President George W. Bush, police have tightened security in Metro Manila amid warnings from Australia that the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) plans to wreak havoc in the country.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco has deployed at least 10,000 policemen in the metropolis, and asked security chiefs of malls and hotels to implement stricter security measures.

"We are not lowering our guard and we have been maintaining a continuous heightened security alert in the light of the renewed threat of terrorist attack and the scheduled state visit of US President George W. Bush on Oct. 18," he said.

In Manila, Chief Inspector Gerry Agunod, Western Police District (WPD) spokesman, said anti-American demonstrators must present a permit from City Hall or they will be dispersed.

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said they have not yet finalized the traffic rerouting plan for the eight-hour Bush visit because they have not received the official itinerary of the US president.

"We have not yet fixed a complete traffic rerouting plan for the arrival of US President Bush," he said. "So far, the group in charge of his security has not yet provided us with specific details of his trip."

However, Fernando said the MMDA has activated the "visitor's route," and a lane on Roxas Boulevard will be secured for the Bush convoy.

"We don't know how he will go to the Batasan complex (in Quezon City), we have not yet made traffic plans," he said. "He will be passing through Commonwealth Avenue. They should inform us at the soonest possible."

Fernando said he will also mobilize some 2,000 traffic enforcers in Metro Manila to ensure the smooth flow of traffic on Saturdays.

Bush is scheduled to attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal at Rizal Park in Manila, he added.

Velasco said additional sniffer dogs will be fielded around vital private and government installations in Metro Manila.

He also ordered the deployment of additional uniformed and plainclothes policemen in various establishments, particularly transportation facilities and government agencies.

"Force multipliers" like the 150,000 private security guards and the 23,000 barangay tanods have been readied to reinforce the 17,000-strong NCRPO.

Velasco urged Metro Manilans to remain calm and vigilant as he assured that the police are stepping up security, particularly in oil depots, malls, embassies and other crowded places.

"The vigilance of our people is necessary to thwart any move by these groups to sow terror in the country, particularly in the metropolis," he said.

Velasco said he has ordered the directors of the five police districts in Metro Manila to intensify security measures, including the conduct of "target hardening" drills.

"It is always a possibility that the JI will use local extremist groups in launching terroristic attacks in the country," he said.

It has been established that JI has links with Abu Sayyaf terrorists, he added.

Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, Armed Forces spokesman, has assured the people that all security mechanisms for the Bush visit are intact.

"The AFP is prepared for this (possible Abu Sayyaf bombing operations) and all the security mechanisms are in place," he said.

"The security alert is at high gear, and would rev on towards the visit date. Whether or not there is such a threat, the vigilance of the Armed Forces will be maintained at high level, including preemptive operations that we will set into motion."

However, Garcia said intelligence reports have not identified any specific threat to Bush when he arrives in the country.

"We have not received any report of an actual threat during his visit but we are not taking things for granted," he said.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said he did not believe that fugitive terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi would disrupt the Bush visit.

"Right now, Al-Ghozi is hiding, he is on the run and we are hoping we will catch him anytime now," he said.

"It is possible that groups sympathetic (to the communists) will be active and stage demonstrations but we are also prepared," Golez said.

In an interview aired Friday by radio station dxRZ in Zamboanga City, Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman said they will mount terrorists attacks during the eight-hour visit of Bush.

"We (Abu Sayyaf) will be your worst nightmare," he said. "We will let you feel the fear and the raging fury very deep inside us. Just wait and see."

Abu Solaiman is one of five Abu Sayyaf leaders who carries a $5-million bounty offered by the US government after the kidnapping of three Americans on May 27, 2000 from the Dos Palmas resort off Palawan.

Leftist groups have also vowed to stage protests before and during the Bush visit, despite government warnings that they will not be allowed to approach the areas where the US president will appear.

Al-Ghozi, an Indonesian sentenced to 17 years in jail for possession of explosives, escaped from jail in Camp Crame, Quezon City last July 14, along with two Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

Bush's scheduled eight-hour visit to this country on Oct. 18 is widely seen as a gesture of gratitude for President Arroyo's support in the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill has warned that the predominance of Christians and Western culture in the Philippines makes it a "soft target" of JI. -- With reports from Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan, Mike Frialde, AFP

Would you like to comment?

Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.

stevenwarran

Saved by stevenwarran

on Dec 14, 12