part from airports and sea ports, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has tightened security in several foreign embassies in Manila and Makati City days after Osama bin Laden, the al Quaeda leader who masterminded the Sept, 11, 2001 attacks on New York City's Twin Towers, was killed by US special forces in Pakistan on Sunday.
The Manila Police District has deployed additional forces around the US Embassy in Manila as requested by the Americans, said PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr.
US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said stricter security measures were put in place following Bin Laden's death.
"We already have extremely strict security measures to protect Filipinos and Americans working here and also the Filipinos who visit us on a daily basis, and I have full confidence in my staff and also the Filipino details," Thomas said in an interview Tuesday night on GMA News' "24 Oras" .
Other foreign embassies, mostly in Makati City, have yet to ask for additional security forces, but the PNP has intensified patrol operations to secure the foreign posts on Philippine soil, Cruz said.
"Kasama na din dito ang very close coordination with other intelligence agencies of other countries, particularly in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, at gayundin sa mga Amerikano," the PNP spokesman said.
Cruz said the police is intensifying the surveillance on identified "terrorist groups" in the Philippines to preempt possible retaliations.
According to the National Security Council, there are three groups associated with al Qaeda in the Philippines: the Abu Sayyaf (about 300 members), Jemaah Islamiyah (20-30 members), and the Rajah Sulaiman Movement (five members).
The Abu Sayyaf, a loosely organized group of Islamic fundamentalists, is believed to be under the tutelage of al Qaeda's regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamayah, said Cruz.
"But so far, wala tayong namo-monitor na reports. That is why pinapayuhan natin ang ating mga kababayan na wala tayong dahilan para maging apprehensive," he added.
Earlier in the day, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin reminded the public not to put their guard down even if the world's most-wanted international terrorist Bin Laden is already dead.
"While we celebrate with the rest of the freedom loving world on this occasion, we caution our citizenry that this is not the time to put our guard down but a time for more vigilance and alertness in seeing to it that the spectre of terrorism does not creep back into our national territory," Gazmin said in a statement.
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More police in Mindanao
The PNP spokesman said additional policemen from the PNP's Special Action Force have earlier been deployed in parts of southern Philippines and will remain there to maintain peace in the region.
The additional policemen have been deployed in Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi — considered strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf.
Cruz noted that there have not been any retaliatory attacks from the Abu Sayyaf in recent times.
The PNP went on nationwide full alert before the Holy Week and kept it for the expected Labor Day protests on May 1. It is likely to maintain the alert status in light of Bin Laden's death. On full alert status, policemen are barred from going on leave and requires them to work and ensure peace and order in their respective areas.
Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos, spokesperson for the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), had earlier said the 17,000 policemen all over Metro Manila remain "ready" to respond to any untoward incident.
On Sunday, (Monday in Manila) US President Barack Obama announced that US forces killed bin Laden in Pakistan and buried his remains beneath the sea in an undisclosed region.
The al Qaeda leader's death came barely a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US that killed around 3,000 people. The assault triggered the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. — KBK/VS,
