Manila airport raises alert level following London terror threats

By Ronron
July 2, 2007

The alert level against possible terror attack at the airports in Manila was raised on Monday afternoon to moderate from low or normal following threats of terrorism in London.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Assistant General Manager Angel Atutubo said the raising of alert level came after Philippine intelligence officials assessed the possible impact of the London incident to the Philippines.

“Starting yesterday (Sunday), we placed additional security preemptive measures to ensure the security and safety of our passengers, all Filipinos, including our facilities. We deployed additional security forces, canines, and patrol cars, and heightened police visibility at the vicinity of the airport,” Atutubo said.

Under the moderate level, a terrorist attack is possible but not likely to happen. The next higher level is HIGH, which indicates a strong possibility of a terrorist attack within a period of time. The highest level is EXTREME, classified into two: Severe, which means, a terrorist attack is highly likely; and Critical, which means a terrorist attack has occurred, or has just been preempted, and follow-on attacks are expected.

In a separate interview at Camp Aguinaldo, National Security Adviser and concurrent Defense acting Secretary Norberto Gonzales said the terror threat, however, in the rest of Metro Manila remains at low level, which means there is no monitored intent and capability to attack.

The alert level in Mindanao. Meanwhile, remains at Extreme-Critical, he said.

Atutubo said the alert level at the airport may be lowered in a few days if the Philippine intelligence community can ascertain that the terror threat in London will no longer affect the country.

With the raising of the alert level at the airport, Atutubo said that “if not 100 percent, I can assure 99 percent of the people’s security and safety at our airport.”

He asked passengers taking international flights to go to the airport two to three hours before their flights, and one or two hours for those taking domestic flights so they will have enough time to go through the series of security checks./DMS