Israeli troops to train PNP vs terrorism

Local crack police commandos will receive training on counter-terrorism from 10 Israeli police experts starting next week at the former US navy base at Subic Bay in Zambales.

A police official at Camp Crame, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Israelis will train members of the Philippine National Police’s elite Special Action Force.

Training will begin on Tuesday, to be held at the SAF training school inside the former American military base.

"This is solely for the SAF. No other local units will be involved. This is just an upgrading of training on anti-terrorism of our SAF personnel," the source said.

However, police officials at Camp Crame refused to say how long the Israelis will stay in the country, as well as on the details of the training, describing it as "hush-hush." They also refused to reveal who is sponsoring the training.

PNP director Fiorenzo Fianza had earlier said the PNP was eyeing Britain’s famed Scotland Yard and French anti-terrorist specialists to train Filipino police officers. He made no mention about Israelis.

Yesterday, a source said the PNP had sent a team of police officers to Israel for anti-terrorism training last year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Fianza was earlier assigned by President Arroyo to work out the anti-terrorist training programs of local police officers by their foreign counterparts.

PNP Deputy Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., deputy chief for administration and head of the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force, will officially open the training in Subic, The STAR learned.

Honed by decades of fighting terrorism and Arab militancy, Israeli security forces are rated as among the best in the world.

However, some quarters in the police and military, who have requested anonymity, have expressed reservations over the Israeli presence here.

They said it might just attract more terrorists into the country who might want to target the Israelis in view of the worsening months-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

This is the second time that Philippine security forces will receive training on combating terrorism from foreign experts since the government gave full support for the US government’s war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks.

For months now, hundreds of US troops have been busy training Philippine troops in Basilan on counter-terrorism tactics as part of the joint US-Philippine military exercises, dubbed "Balikatan" (shoulder-to-shoulder).

Talks are underway between Manila and Washington on the possibility of extending the war games.

US Special Forces with their hi-tech equipment are currently assisting the Philippine military in hunting down the elusive Abu Sayyaf bandits who are holding hostage American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse Deborah Yap.

US military advisers are also training two more so-called light reaction companies of the Philippine military, US-equipped crack units whose job is to take on terrorists.

Already, one light reaction company is in Basilan helping hunt down the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf has been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network of fugitive Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden. According to an FBI intelligence report, the Abu Sayyaf has been channeling funds – presumably raised from its kidnapping activities – to al-Qaeda.

The US presence enjoys strong public support, according to an uncommissioned opinion poll by the Social Weather Stations.

Seventy-five percent of Filipinos approve the involvement, although limited, of US troops in the fight versus the Abu Sayyaf bandits. Only 17 percent disapproved.

But poll respondents differed on how long they should stay. Sixty percent said the US troops should stay in Basilan as long as they’re needed. Fifteen percent said they should stay for only three months, while another 15 percent said six months.

Last week, President Arroyo approved the deployment to Basilan of an additional 340 US troops, mostly engineers. They will mostly be involved in socio-civic activities, such as building roads and bridges, along with their local counterparts.