Wednesday, January 10, 2007 8 ‘armed’ aircraft to give air cover
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has activated the task force it earlier formed as its contribution to the security efforts for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit.
The elements of Oplan Aegis, named after the mythical shield of Zeus, will support the security and intelligence task forces formed by the Asean summit organizing committees.
For its part, the Philippine Air force (PAF) will deploy eight aircraft to protect summit delegates against terrorism and criminal activities.
Maj. Gen. Horacio Tolentino, commanding general of PAF’s Tactical Operations Command, said two OB-10 bombers, two MG helicopters armed with rockets and four Huey helicopters are now on standby at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base.
Of the four Huey choppers, two will be used to fly over the runway of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport before the arrival and departure of the aircraft of heads of state and government.
The other two Huey helicopters will provide air cover for Asean leaders traveling from the Most Important Persons Lounge to their hotels, and from the hotels to the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).
No-fly zone
Tolentino warned owners of small aircraft and helicopters to refrain from flying over Metro Cebu during the Asean summit or else they will be penalized, including the pilots.
The cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu were declared a no-fly zone from Jan. 10-16, as one of the security measures.
There will be reconnaissance operations to detect any plans for ambush by terrorist groups, especially along the ceremonial routes.
NBI Assistant Director Pedro Bulaong, who is in Cebu and will remain here until the end of the summit, heads the task force that is composed of technical and forensic people.
They held a dry run last Monday, staging a mock quick reaction deployment, the details of which were not released.
“It was just a review of the preparations. The plan was set up in December yet but, if you remember, it was postponed,” he said in a press conference also attended by Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Felix Guanzon.
Not specific
Likewise, Bulaong said, it was to help the members of the task group, which is composed of selected NBI agents and investigators from all over the country, become familiar with Cebu.
“The only problem we encountered was traffic snarls. Hopefully, the rerouting to be implemented during the summit proper will eliminate this,” he added.
Oplan Aegis has intelligence teams that focus on information gathering. They, said NBI Regional Director Medardo de Lemos in an interview last night, have already been deployed.
It also has investigation teams, a technical and forensic support team that will be on standby until called upon.
Given due attention, Bulaong said, are reports that a transnational group is out to make trouble anytime during the three-day event.
“There are reported threats but they are not specific. There are no specific targets and there are no specific personalities,” he said.
Hunt
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez earlier directed the NBI, a unit under the justice department, to track down a suspected Vietnamese-American bomber reportedly now on Philippine soil.
The suspect, Vihn Nguyen Tan, also known as Vo Van Duc, is the alleged leader of a Vietnamese group calling itself the Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group.
He was arrested at a house in Manila in 2001, while allegedly assembling a bomb to attack the Vietnamese embassy, but was allegedly freed by immigration officials, who gave him a Filipino passport in 1995.
Since then, efforts to locate him have been futile, and three immigration officials are now being investigated for the fiasco. (KNR/EOB)
