Ebdane commends PNP for job well done during Bush state visit

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has commended his men for successfully maintaining law and order in Metro Manila during the eight-hour visit of US President George W. Bush last Saturday.

Ebdane headed an 11,000-strong force, dubbed Task Force Dubya, that was set up to provide a security blanket across the metropolis during the Bush visit, that included dealing with violent anti-US protests.

"We were firm and decisive in our actions on the ground, yet we made sure that civil rights are upheld and respected," he said in a message to his men.

Ebdane’s ground commander, Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco, thanked Filipinos who lined up the roads to welcome Bush as well as anti-US protesters for keeping their groups orderly.

About 5,000 protesters staged rallies along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, the main thoroughfare leading to the Batasan Pambansa where Bush addressed a joint session of Congress, according to police.

Another 1,500 were kept away by riot police at the Quezon Monument, a few kilometers from the legislature.

Velasco said keeping the peace was imperative to prevent damaging the country’s image abroad.

"You could just imagine if there was bloodshed or violence had we applied a strong hand against our militant countrymen who were expressing their views and sentiments," Velasco said, adding that clashes reported by the foreign press "would reinforce all the negative advisories against the Philippines."

Security forces in the country were on edge following earlier travel warnings by Australia, Britain and New Zealand that terrorists might stage attacks during the Bush visit to embarrass the Philippines.

The Philippines and Indonesia are considered the most likely targets in Southeast Asia for attacks by al-Qaeda-linked terror groups.

Velasco said he and other security officials conferred constantly to make sure everything went smoothly.

"At one point, I even talked to US national security adviser Condoleeza Rice to personally assure her of the safety and security of President Bush before he went to the Batasan Pambansa to address a joint session of Congress," he said.

The security plan was drawn up by a Malacañang oversight committee together with the PNP, the Presidential Security Group and the US Secret Service.

Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, PNP spokesman, said the situation across the metropolis was mostly peaceful.

"Mission accomplished. All security preparations proved effective in ensuring order during the eight-hour state visit of US President Bush."

Only a few minor clashes erupted between leftist protesters and police along Commonwealth Avenue, Bataoil added. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.

Bataoil said all task force personnel have returned to their mother units.

Ebdane, however, ordered all units to stay alert because of the recent rash of high-profile crimes and the lingering regional terrorist threat from Jemaah Islamiyah and local Muslim militants.