Marines, Army arrive to beef up cops

Close to 800 battle-tested Marines and Army soldiers from various war zones in the country arrived in Cebu yesterday morning to beef up security for the upcoming 12th Asean Summit in December.

But while at probably no post-war period in Cebu's history has security presence been so pervasive, with policemen posted at almost every corner, it was ironically also at about the same time that criminals chose to sneer at the security blanket by staging two lightning robberies on two lending shops within minutes of each other before noon yesterday.

Indeed, one of the lending firms, Alano and Sons Finance Corporation on Escario Street, was robbed by two men on motorcycles with two policemen who are part of the Asean security detail standing no more than 20 meters away, apparently oblivious to what was going on.

Some 20 minutes later, another lending firm, the G.A. Countryside Lending Corporation in Tejero, interestingly a sister company of the first shop victimized, was held up also by two men on motorcycles.

In all, the robbers made off with more than P200,000 in cash and checks.

The Escario shop is owned by Bienvenida Alano while the one in Tejero is owned by her son Gino. Both shops reportedly had neither security guards nor alarm systems.

Police tried to immediately set up roadblocks but had no idea what direction the robbers had fled as none of the employees of both shops ran outside to seek help after the robbers had gone.

As police were kept busy in Cebu City, the Marines and Army soldiers that arrived at the Naval Forces Central in Lapulapu City just across the Mactan Channel were given a fitting welcome.

The troops came on two Navy transport ships from Manila where they underwent specialized training for Asean security duties.

The Marines had been assigned to Mindanao and had formed part of the military dragnet out to capture fleeing Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists prior to their redeployment to Cebu.

The Army troopers, on the other hand, had come from Samar where they were also battling communist rebels there.

Army Lt. Col. Luis Vincent Tacderas, who heads the 470 members of the 46th Infantry Battalion from Catbalogan, Samar, said his men completed four months of specialized training to enhance their skills and anti-terrorism capabilities.

Marine Lt. Col. Martin Pinto, commander of the contingent from the 7th Marine Battalion, said his men are likewise capable for the mission to keep the Asean Summit safe. Pinto said the 300 Marines under his command also completed retraining for their anti-terrorism and security mission.

The Marines and Army soldiers were met by representatives of the different local government executives in Metro Cebu.

In all, a total of 4,500 Armed Forces personnel are expected to be deployed in Cebu for the summit. They are joining hundreds of police from various places of assignment who will also provide security for the biggest international event this premier city in the south has ever hosted.

Hundreds of these policemen are already here, thereby making it a common site to see two to four policemen standing in many street corners in Metro Cebu.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command chief Garduso Luna tried to reassure the Cebuanos regarding the heavy military presence by saying the soldiers are here for peace-keeping and not for combat.

Luna also reminded the soldiers to maintain proper decorum and the highest standard of discipline during their stay in Cebu. - with Norvie Misa