Pasay police monitoring Muslim communities

MANILA, Philippines - The Pasay City police, in coordination with Islamic religious leaders, are keeping a close watch on Muslim communities to monitor the possible entry of terrorist groups who intend to take advantage of the protest against an anti-Islam film.

Police Superintendent Samuel Turla, officer-in-charge of the Pasay City police, said they are conducting constant dialogues with Muslim religious leaders to avert any violent reaction from the Islamic communities about the movie “Innocence of Muslims.”

Turla said Muslim leaders in the city are working with the police to keep their communities free from radical elements.

“We have intensified intelligence operations in the city,” Turla said, adding that police visibility has also been intensified near the US embassy compound.

Terrorist targets

A source told The STAR yesterday that an Islamic group is indeed targeting the heavily guarded US embassy compound and some tourist destinations in Pasay City as part of the global protest against the anti-Islam film.

A highly placed source at the Pasay City Hall said the urgent advisory issued by the US embassy to its citizens in the country is an offshoot of the report that armed Islamic radicals have infiltrated Muslim communities along Roxas Boulevard, Baclaran and other areas in the city.

In a text message to The STAR, Pasay City Mayor Antonio Calixto said he has instructed the local police force to augment the security forces now deployed in areas that may be targeted by terrorists.

“We hope that this threat will not materialize and that protests against the film ‘Innocence of Muslims’ will remain peaceful,” he said.

Meanwhile, the military said it is taking seriously the security warnings issued by four countries including the US, but stressed that the information that served as basis for the advisories did not come from its troops.

Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said they have intensified their intelligence-gathering efforts even if no imminent threat against foreign nationals has been detected.

“We can assure the people that we took these (advisories) very seriously and our performance in fulfilling our mandate to the people will continue. We will even exhaust all measures in order to make sure that all are safe here in the Philippines,” Burgos told reporters yesterday. – With Alexis Romero