By Nitz Arancon
THE Armed Forces yesterday intensified its security and intelligence gathering operations in a bid to prevent an incident similar to the terror attack in Brussels, Belgium that left some 30 people dead and 230 others wounded.
“The AFP together with other security forces have taken up the necessary steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the country. We are constantly monitoring the situation on the ground to ensure that similar incidents will not happen here,” said AFP public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato.
Detoyato stressed that intensified security and intelligence gathering efforts are ongoing to monitor and if needed, foil and deter such attempt by terror groups.
This came about even as National Police Director General Ricardo Marquez ordered tighter security measures around vital installations and crowded areas in relation to the operational guidelines of the “Ligtas Sumvac 2016.”
Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, police spokesman, said all police units nationwide were given orders to intensify security and ensure public safety during the rest of the Holy Week.
The Aviation Security Group has also deployed additional personnel to various airports across the country.
The security measures are to be implemented in areas like airports, seaports, train stations, highways, main thoroughfares and crime-prone areas, recreational areas, churches and other places where people tend to congregate during the Holy Week.
Mayor said that total of 64,635 policemen to be deployed in the entire country to secure 17,976 place of convergence and 4,560 transportation hubs and terminals.
He added the PNP assures the public that sufficient units are on standby, ready to respond to any situation and act on contingencies.
Detoyato, meanwhile, said the AFP is strongly condemning the Brussels attack which targeted helpless civilians.
World leaders strongly condemned the deadly attacks at the Brussels International Airport and a metro station that shook the Belgian capital city which hosts most European Union institutions and meetings.
The metro station Maalbeek hit by a bomb was only about 500 meters from the “Berlaymont Building,” the headquarters of the European Commission.
“The AFP strongly condemns this dastardly act targeting innocent civilians. This attack cannot be justified by any ideology and has no place in any civilized society,” he said.
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