Standoff over iron ore leads to near shootout

Tension gripped a port terminal in North Harbor, Manila yesterday morning when two groups of heavily armed policemen almost engaged in a firefight allegedly over protection of business interest of two Chinese-Filipino businessmen.

A near shootout was averted when cooler heads prevailed.

The confrontation arose when some 50 operatives of the Manila Police District, composed of mobile crewmen and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officers, stopped the loading of iron ore into dump trucks inside the Harbour Centre Port Terminal allegedly under instruction from one Willy Dy Keng, who claims to be the owner of the ore.

Upon seeing the commotion, Maritime Police operatives, under Superintendent Amador Pabustan, assembled a team with heavy artillery to confront the Manila policemen.

It was gathered that the Maritime Police, which has jurisdiction over the Harbour Centre terminal, was summoned by Matatag Mining Corp. (MMC) last week after their loading operations were stopped by the Manila police.

The tense standoff lasted for several minutes as police officials from both groups talked it over with their counterparts.

The MMC, a mining company engaged in exporting ore, earlier leased the Harbour Centre for stockpiling. However, last Oct. 13, its loading operations were stopped after Keng, accompanied by several MPD operatives, ordered MMC personnel to suspend the operations.

MMC said that despite the presence of the Maritime Police, MPD operatives refused to leave the terminal and "continued to harass their employees."

"As a result of intimidation by these policemen, the operation of our company was stopped and we continue to suffer since we have to pay for damages due for the delay of the shipment as well as the use of the terminal," MMC assistant corporate secretary Christian Robert Lim said.