Thursday, January 11, 2007 P10B released for military
HE country’s top police and military officials arrived in Cebu yesterday to inspect security arrangements that will be in place until the Southeast and East Asian summits end early next week.
“All the security preparations have been in place since December. In fact, our troops were not pulled out when the summit was postponed last month,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon.
A blast killed at least six persons in General Santos yesterday, just hours after Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Calderon said that militants may try to embarrass the government by staging attacks during the summits.
“Today, let’s move forward. Let’s stop talking about preparations and start talking about how we can make Cebu a safer place for the Asean summit,” Calderon told officers and law enforcers assembled at the tactical operations center in Mandaue City.
“I assure the community and foreign participants that Cebu will be safe for everybody,” Calderon added.
During the summit, both the AFP’s Central Command and the Philippine National Police will report to Leo Alvez, assistant secretary-general for security of the 12th Asean summit.
In an interview yesterday, Esperon said that President Arroyo has approved the purchase of P10 billion worth of military equipment, as hardware for the government’s mission to wipe out communist insurgents.
He is optimistic that the New People’s Army will be wiped out by the end of 2007, especially in Cebu and the Visayas, areas where “the people and local officials work together” against anti-government forces.
Accompanied by Maj. Gen. Horacio Tolentino, the commanding general of the Tactical Operations Command at Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base, Esperon met with his military commanders from the Army, Navy and Air Force yesterday.
Calderon, for his part, listened to a briefing by Asean Task Force Commander Antonio Billones and Task Force Cebu Chief Silverio Alarcio Jr.
He then addressed two platoons of Civil Disturbance Management policeman, a platoon of Special Action Force combatants who were armed to the teeth and a platoon of motorcycle-riding operatives from the Traffic Management Group.
“Definitely, we will discourage demonstrations,” Calderon told reporters. (EOB/OCP)
