WPD girds for NPA attacks

The Western Police District is now girding for possible attacks on the nation’s capital by the communist New People’s Army.

This developed in the wake of successive attacks by the Maoist armed group on police installations in various parts of the Central and Southern Tagalog regions.

"We do not want to take any chances. This is why we are now in a state of heightened alert," said a WPD intelligence officer who refused to be named.

According to the source, they are now verifying reports that the NPA has set up bases of operations in depressed areas in the city, such as Isla Puting Bato in Tondo.

"We are not saying that they (NPA rebels) are already there. But we are closely monitoring the area," said the source.

According to the source, based on the intelligence information they gathered, the rebels plan to assassinate police officers and attack key government facilities and offices in the city.

It would be recalled that in the 1980s, the NPA’s hit squad, the "Sparrow Unit," unleashed a wave of assassinations in Manila and other parts of the metropolis against police officers.

To thwart the NPA’s possible moves, the source said, the WPD has fielded more intelligence operatives. In addition, security watch around vital facilities such as the light rail transit terminals, the Malacañang Palace, the United States Embassy and the Pandacan oil depot facilities have also been tightened. – Mike Frialde