Navy holds anti-terror training on Boracay

Naval gunboats and highly trained Navy SEALS hit the beaches of Boracay yesterday to thwart a terrorist attack.

But this time, it was only a drill.

Local and foreign tourists in the country’s premiere island resort watched as the beach was secured, the "threat" diffused and the anti-terrorism drill concluded safely.

The sea-borne anti-terrorism operation, the biggest so far this year to be launched by the Philippine Navy, was deemed a success.

Navy Sea, Air and Land elements or SEAL, were supported by two fixed-wing aircraft and Naval Security Force (NSF) troopers.

Navy spokesman Capt. Geronimo Malabanan said the naval exercise coincided with the deployment of the Navy’s anti-terrorist "Task Force Stingray" on Boracay to protect local and foreign tourists alike.

Task Force Stingray is the military’s first line of defense against sea-borne terrorist attacks – not just those aimed at tourists but against vital sea infrastructures, including the multibillion-dollar Malampaya natural gas field in Palawan.

BRP GMA, the newest Cyclone Class Naval gunboat acquired by the government from the United States, served as the mother ship in yesterday’s Task Force Stingray anti-terrorism drill.

"We launched the drill to project before our tourists that our beaches are safe and that the Navy can be here, there and everywhere, for their protection," Malabanan said.

Navy Flag Officer in Command (FOIC) Vice Adm. Ernesto De Leon, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and Iñigo Zobel, son of industrialist Enrique Zobel, witnessed the naval anti-terrorism exercises.

Instead of being alarmed at the sudden arrival of naval gunboats on the shores, local and foreign tourists were noticeably pleased, according to Malabanan.

"Natutuwa sila dahil dito na ang Navy at may additional protection na sila (They were happy to get additional protection)," Malabanan said in a phone interview.

A series of intelligence reports had warned that local and foreign terrorists were planning to hatch a series of plots aimed at sea-borne targets, including the abduction of tourists.

The reports gained credence following the arrest of Ghamal Baharan, one of the two suspects in the bombing of a passenger bus in Makati City last Valentine’s Day.

Baharan, along with unidentified cohorts, were found to have undergone extensive diving lessons last year in the island town of Coron, Palawan, another popular tourist destination here.

Aside from that, telephone transmission from Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, Baharan and his group had been monitored.

Four years ago, military and police were caught off-guard when Abu Sayyaf terrorists raided the upscale resort of Dos Palmas just off the coast of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and retreated to their jungle base in Sulu and Basilan with 20 tourists, three of them Americans.

Two of the American hostages were later killed. Guillermo Sobero was beheaded by his captor while Martin Burnham was killed in crossfire during a military operations in Zamboanga del Norte, which resulted in the rescue of his wife Gracia.