by magnolia_eic | Aug 23, 2011 | Headlines, National News
MALACANANG on Saturday expressed elation over the US State department’s report noting a continued decline of the terrorist activities in the Philippines.
Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the government will consider the report as an indication to further improve its counter terrorism efforts.
“We are very happy about this development and we will take this as an indication to further our counter terrorism efforts,” Valte said.
The US State Department, in its “Country Reports on Terrorism 2010,” reported that the terrorist activities in the Philippines declined in the past year.
“The ability of terrorist groups, such as Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah and the New People’s Army, to conduct terrorist activities inside the Philippines continued to decline,” the report said.
“The Philippine government, with US support, has kept constant pressure on terrorist groups even as their security services were stretched thin by other demands such as carrying out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and providing security for the national election in May,” it added.
The US State Department also lauded the Philippine law enforcers for their “vigorous efforts to arrest terrorists and eliminate safe havens, and closely coordinated efforts with US law enforcement officers.”
(PCOO)
by magnolia_eic | Jan 18, 2011 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
“THE deadline has passed but we are not letting our guards down,” Col. Romeo Brawner told the Provincial Peace and Order Council during a meeting at the Bohol Tropics Thursday January 13.
“We are fortunate that we have surpassed the deadline set by Abu to kidnap foreigners,” Brawner said during the recent assessment of the peace and security situation in Bohol.
“We will not let our guards down, we will maintain security not only in Panglao but the whole of Bohol as well, our boats will remain in the area and our focus will remain in place,” he added.
Governor Edgar Chatto also echoed Brawner pronouncements saying “The most critical moments are when we believe the danger has passed.”
Brawner, who leads the army Special Forces Battalion cited the intelligence report that said a band of Abu Sayaff bandits were heading to Bohol on a double-engine speedboat Monday January 10 to kidnap two foreign tourists.
Brawner also confirmed that the same intelligence report which said that the deadline for the operation was within January 10-11.
“Bohol was indeed a target for kidnapping by Abusayyaf, our Manila intelligence has confirmed,” Brawner shared.
Immediately after receiving the intelligence report, which was validated and was said to have come from a reliable agent in Zamboanga, police and military authorities in Bohol rolled into motion security operations and crisis management planning to get the most immediate deterrent assets in the general area where the hit was supposed to happen.
PSSupt Constantino Barot also immediately placed Bohol under a heightened security alert even as he directed the deployment of additional police troops, augmented police stations located within Panglao island and neighboring tourist islands of Balicasag and Pamilacan.
The Philippine Navy also sent a patrol boat while the Army Special Forces also deployed their sea asset to beef up security operations in the seas.
Barot also bared that the Philippine Air Force has committed an attack and a utility chopper for the operations of the area south of Bohol.
On this, Governor Edgar Chatto stressed that “Our preparedness would never be substituted by anything else.”
We should always have the capability to respond not only to the present, but future dangers and threats, Chatto told PPOC members. (racPIABohol)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 8, 2010 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
GIBUTANG sa heightened alert status ang mga police units sa Luzon ug Visayas sugod Martes sa udto agig paglikay sa posibleng pagbalos sa pagpangatake sa grupo sa Abu Sayyaf.
Ang Philippine National Police (PNP) ug ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) nipasaka na sa ilang alert levels sa pinakataas nga status sa Mindanao human sa pagkamatay ni Gafur Jumdail, ang igsoong lalaki ni Abu Sayyaf lider Gumbahali Jumdail a.k.a. Dr. Abu, ug duha sa iyang mga sakop sa lungsod sa Maimbung sa milabay’ng Sabado.
Gimanduan na ni PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa ang tanang PNP units nga dugangan ang pagbantay ug seguridad sa tanang vital installations, lakip na ang mga airport, pantalan, simbahan, publiko ug ubang lugar nga tagbuanan nga posibleng target sa teroristang kalihokan.
Gi dugang usab sa tigpamaba sa PNP nga si Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz, Jr. nga wala pa hinuon sila nakadawat og tahu nga ang mga Abu Sayyaf adunay planong mo atake sa Luzon ug Visayas.
Gipasabot ni Cruz nga ang pagpasaka sa alert level parte lamang sa ilang security measures.
Gipasalig hinuon ni Cruz nga ang PNP magpabiling magbantay sa mga panghitabo ilabi na ang niaging encounter sa Mindanao. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 6, 2010 | Headlines, National News
PHILIPPINE security forces in western Mindanao will be on full alert this week as the holy Islam month of Ramadan draws to a close, especially with the prospect of retaliatory attacks from the Abu Sayyaf.
The police will concentrate on security around mosques while the military will help look out for other threats.
The PNP asked the Muslim community for understanding for the full alert status, saying it is meant to make sure the bandits cannot sow violence at this time.
Chief Superintendent Angelo Sumlao, head of the directorate for integrated police operations in Western Mindanao, said their priority is to protect civilians in the volatile region.
On Sunday, PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa placed police forces in Western Mindanao on full alert after police killed three Abu Sayyaf militants in a clash in Sulu.
Gafur Jumdail, younger brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Gumbahali Jumdail a.k.a. Dr. Abu, and two of his men were killed late Saturday near Maimbung town in Jolo. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jun 17, 2010 | Headlines
PHILIPPINE troops rescued a Filipino businessman of Swiss descent Wednesday as suspected Muslim guerrillas who abducted him two months ago were moving him to a coastal village in the country’s south, officials said.
Several guerrillas fled after they landed onshore in Labuan township in the outskirts of Zamboanga city with their ailing captive, Charlie Reith, and saw government forces approaching before dawn, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said.
Reith was taken to a military camp, where he was given porridge and checked by doctors. Navy men and army troops tried to track down his captors, some of whom escaped onboard two motor boats, Rear Adm. Alex Pama said.
Gunmen seized Reith, 72, from a beach resort in Zamboanga on April 4 and whisked him off onboard three outrigger boats. They also tried to kidnap his German friend, Karl Reichling, but he resisted and managed to get away.
Earlier, police tagged the Abu Sayyaf behind the kidnapping, while local military leaders said Moro Islamic Liberation Front sub-leader Malista Malanca and Abu Sayyaf leader Khair Mundos planned the kidnapping in Al-Barka, Basilan. Abductors supposedly carried out the kidnapping by disguising as policemen and threatening to arrest Reith over drug charges. (PIA-Bohol)
