Police commanders told: Maximize security measures for COVID-19
MANILA, Philippines — Police commanders especially in Metro Manila and other highly-urbanized cities to maximize the implementation of the existing quarantine security protocols to prevent the "spillover of attacks" in the aftermath of the twin bombings in Sulu, the quarantine enforcement task force said.
Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, commander of the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, said in a statement that quarantine control points at the city and provincial borders are already a part of the target hardening measures with policemen manning the checkpoints mandated to check all passing vehicles.
“Since March 17, we have set up and further improved the security measures to enforce the quarantine rules. These measures could be maximized by our local commanders to protect their respective areas of responsibilities against any terror threats,” said Eleazar.
According to Eleazar, other quarantine measures that could be capitalized on include intensified police visibility in business districts and places of convergence along with the requirement for travel authorization before people are permitted to cross the borders of provinces.
Eleazar said that the existing protocols, which were implemented to contain the movement of the people, could be used to lessen or deny terror groups the opportunity to carry out terror attacks in other areas.
He added that the task force's ongoing push to intensify community level enforcement of quarantine protocols "also transformed the LGU’s own security officers like barangay tanods to be alert especially against strangers or new faces entering their respective communities."
'PNP supports Sulu-wide martial law'
This comes as the national police mobilizes its available security forces in operations responding to the twin bombings in Sulu.
In a separate statement, Police Gen. Archie Gamboa, chief of the PNP, said he backed the recommendation of Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana to place the entire island province of Sulu under Martial Law
“This will allow the military and police more operational flexibility to carry out law enforcement operations against domestic threat groups in the area,” he said.
Gamboa added that analysts from the Philippine Bomb Data Center are looking for a "specific bomb signature of the explosives that were detonated based on reconstruction of forensic evidence gathered by Crime Laboratory and other security forces that responded to the incident."
“We urge our partners in the LGUs to join us in maintaining our vigilance and in being alert at all times against all possible threats that would compromise the safety and security of our people," Eleazar said. — Franco Luna
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