NCRPO on full alert for V-Day

MANILA, Philippines - Police in Metro Manila were placed on full alert status Wednesday to prevent a repeat of the deadly Valentine’s Day bombings four years ago. Interviewed by GMANews.TV, Police Director Leopoldo Bataoil, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said some 500 policemen have already been deployed to secure key installations like bus terminals and train stations within the metropolis. Aside from fielding additional lawmen on the ground, the NCRPO will also be setting up checkpoints in select areas in Metro Manila. “I will be leaving it to the district directors to determine where exactly to place the checkpoints, but I have instructed them that the policemen in the checkpoints should be in proper uniform," Bataoil said. The NCRPO chief said the police are also “networking" with the security departments of private establishments to work out the security details on Saturday when throngs are expected to flock malls to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Bataoil said the full alert status would last until Sunday. The Metro Manila police said they are continuing to intensify intelligence monitoring and target hardening operations to closely watch over probable targets. “As of now, there is no specific threat or atrocities that our intelligence has gathered, but just the same, we are observing pro-active and preventive measures," Bataoil said. Valentine’s Day bombings refer to the February 14, 2005 blasts that ripped Makati City in Luzon, and Davao and General Santos City in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao. Eight people were killed in the explosions, while dozens more were injured. The bombings were believed to be perpetrated by members of the Abu Sayyaf and the Rajah Solaiman Movement, a radical group of Muslim converts. Military intelligence officials have said the attacks were funded by the Jemaah Islamiyah, which has links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV