By Ronron
February 12, 2008
Top officials of the police and military assured on Tuesday that tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day celebration, particularly in Metro Manila, will be bombed free.
Chief Supt. Rolando Añonuevo of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Intelligence Group, Director Geary Barias of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), and Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Fernando Mesa all said yesterday that they have not monitored any terrorist threat for tomorrow like what happened three years ago.
“We have not received any report that there will be violent incidents,” Añonuevo said in a phone interview.
On February 14, 2005, eight people killed and over 100 others were hurt after three bombings simultaneously rocked the cities of Makati, General Santos and Davao.
Barias and Mesa that they have yet to receive reports of a terrorist attack in Metro Manila similar to the bombings three years ago.
“For now, we don’t see any indication but it is always good to be on alert,” Mesa said in a separate interview at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
Añonuevo said the terrorist groups will never stop attempting to attack Metro Manila because this is where the incidents will get noticed not just domestically but also internationally.
Asked if there are Abu Sayyaf or Jemaah Islamiyah members in the capital, Añonuevo said: “We are trying to trace to that. We are assessing that.”
Both Barias and Añonuevo said they have yet to find out if the alert level of the PNP will be raised tomorrow as part of the security preparations.
Añonuevo said if ever it will be raised, it will be coming from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA).
But Barias said policemen in Metro Manila who have been ordered to increase visibility in the streets and intensify their intelligence gathering against bank robbers since last week will definitely include in their monitoring any terrorist attempt.
“The eight-point anti-bank robbery measures ordered by the chief PNP actually are also in preparation for February 14. That’s also why we are guarding our MRT, LRT, and conducting checkpoints,” Barias said in a separate interview in Cubao, Quezon City yesterday morning.
Mesa said that aside from the “very strong police visibility,” the efforts of blue guards towards this should also be cited.
“You can see that those who should act on this are already doing their job like the blue guards at the MRT, LRT. They are actually very strict (in inspecting baggage of passengers),” he said.
Mesa disclosed that he already assured Barias of more military personnel if the NCRPO needs more.
Right now, the NCRCOM has lent 50 personnel to augment the more or less 400 police personnel guarding the streets of Quezon City in their anti-bank robbery operations following the series of heists in the city since January.
“If Gen. Barias says he needs more, then I will provide,” Mesa said.
Barias encouraged the public to do their share in maintaining peace and order by reporting to policemen any reports they receive with regard to any attempt to sow terror or other forms of violence.
He said the public can simply approach the nearby cops, or send text message to PNP TXT 2920, or call 117.
He said that the police will not disregard any simple reports like the text message that circulated last week about the alleged bombing plots in five areas in Metro Manila to divert the attention of the public from the persisting controversy hounding the aborted National Broadband Network Project.
“We monitored it was a hoax. Although, we didn’t really disregard that,” Barias said./DMS
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