RP posts abroad brace for attacks

Philippine embassies in the Middle East and Southeast Asia are on a high state of alert following bomb threats to diplomatic missions of countries supporting the United States’ war against international terrorism.

Victoriano Lecaros, spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, told reporters yesterday several of the country’s embassies and consulates have asked for a "supplemental budget" so they can hire more security guards and install security cameras, monitors, fences and steel gates.

"There is this blanket authority for our embassies to hire additional security (guards)," he said.

Lecaros said the various Philippines embassies have been instructed to assess the security situation in their posts and report their needs to the home office.

"Any threat to the embassy makes the request justifiable whether because of terrorism or burglary," he said.

Lecaros said the matter of terrorism and other threats to Philippine embassies are serious because these have a "much wider" and "far- reaching" effect.

"We’re not like the Americans who send their own Marines for security of their embassies," he said. "We hire the locals (to do this) and the costs in every country differ."

Lecaros said the foreign affairs department cannot accommodate all requests for "supplemental budget" because the security situation of each embassy has to be assessed to determine which one should be given priority.

Philippine embassies have become vigilant following the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11 last year, he added.

In August 2000, the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia was bombed and Ambassador Leonides Caday was almost killed in the attack.

Diplomatic sources said Filipinos abroad could also be a target of terrorists because the Philippines was the first Asian country to support the US invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime and arrest Osama bin Laden, suspected leader of the terror attacks on the US.

US troops are in the country to take part in the Balikatan 2002 military exercises in Basilan and Zamboanga City, and to train Filipino troops in counter-terrorism.