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Thursday, March 24, 2005
Terrorists may also pose as 'beggars': police
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- Authorities are keeping their eye on practically everyone just to ensure no untoward incident will happen during the Holy Week observation.
Beggars are not even spared from the authorities' scrutiny, as there are fears that terrorists might pose as a pauper.
Davao City Police Office Director Conrado Laza said they are now closely guarding all churches in the city as well as other establishments or areas where a large number of people converge in time for the Holy Week.
Authorities had already temporarily banned all vendors around the churches for security reasons.
The City Government is said to be feeding the affected vendors at the moment until the time the police and military allow them to go back to their usual business.
Laza said they have requested additional 500 forces aside from the existing 1,700 police personnel of the city.
About 500 soldiers from Task Force Davao are also deployed to secure the people from any terrorist attack.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, said only one-third of the city police force are assigned to the usual police business while two-thirds are now concentrating on their anti-terrorism actions.
It is for this reason, Duterte said, that he had relegated to the barangay officials the problem on hooliganism in their respective areas.
Duterte said he issued them shotguns last year so they could take care of the peace and order in their barangays.
Soldiers and police have boosted patrols around shopping malls, churches and other crowded places to thwart reported bombing plots threatened by the Abu Sayyaf as revenge for the death of 23 inmates killed by police in a botched jailbreak last week including three ranking Sayyaf leaders.
A recent intelligence report said Jemaah Islamiyah gave Abu Sayyaf militants at least US$18,500 last year for explosives training.
The Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the August 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, which killed 12 people, and the October 2002 bombings on Bali Island that killed 202, mostly foreign tourists.
(March 24, 2005 issue)
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