PNP brings alert level down to normal

Buoyed up by the relatively incident-free inauguration of President Arroyo last Wednesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has lowered its security status from full to normal alert.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao said the decision to return the alert status to normal was brought about by the PNP’s assessment that the country’s security situation had "stabilized" despite the refusal of opposition standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. to concede.

"The PNP has downgraded the alert status from full alert to normal alert," he said. "The Special Action Force (SAF), National Capital Region, Regions 3 and 4 have returned to normal alert level because the threat of destabilization has (laid) low."

Goltiao said members of the anti-riot police can now "rest and relax" after being on their toes from the start of the presidential campaign to Wednesday’s inauguration in Cebu.

But the military is still considering whether to follow the PNP’s lead, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Danilo Lucero.

"The AFP is seriously considering downgrading its alert level within the next days. We are still assessing the situation, and we are hoping that … our security environment would further improve, which will eventually allow us to downgrade our red alert status to blue," he said.

Lucero said the AFP will not lower its guard against mass actions. He also insisted that the military will never "participate" in any destabilization move against the government.

"We feel that there will be some mass actions and rallies. But based on the standards of EDSA I and EDSA II, we have shown to the public the professionalism of our armed forces," he said.