Metro blasts prompt alert in Cebu City

CEBU CITY — Authorities here have been on high alert following last Saturday’s bombings in Metro Manila which killed at least 17 people and injured nearly a hundred.

Cebu City police director Ronald Roderos said he has canceled all leaves of policemen to step up security.

Although there is a remote possibility of bombings in Cebu City, Roderos said they have taken extra steps to beef up security by tapping intelligence units and the barangay intelligence network.

Gov. Pablo Garcia called on the Philippine National Police to be on high alert, expressing apprehension that whatever happened in Metro Manila may also happen in Cebu City and other urban centers.

High police visibility, constant police surveillance and nightly patrol work are needed to thwart bombing threats, Garcia said.

Security at the Mactan Cebu International Airport has also been tightened. MCIA Authority general manager Alfonso Alerre said vital areas at the airport, such as cargo sites, are being closely monitored.

Alerre said the MCIAA is not taking lightly the bomb explosion at a warehouse in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Saturday.

Officials of security units met yesterday to assess their preparedness for possible terroristic attacks.

The meeting was in preparation for a larger dialogue of the Airport Security Council tomorrow. The council is composed of the security agencies of airlines and airport concessionaires.

"We are doing double-checking of luggage and cargoes to make sure no bombs are planted," Alerre said.

Meanwhile, the Visayas Command, through its spokesman Michael Manquiquis, said it is regularly coordinating with intelligence units tasked to monitor terroristic activities.

He said Viscom’s explosives and ordnance disposal units can respond to four or five bomb threats at the same time.

The National Alliance for Democracy (NAD), through its national chairman Pastor Alcover Jr., said it is mobilizing its 1.5 million members to help the police and military prevent terroristic attacks.— Freeman News Service