Troops still on alert for terror spillover

Military forces in Metro Manila are still on alert to thwart any possible spillover of terror attacks in the country’s capital similar to what was staged by extremists in Mumbai, India, a ranking official said.

Maj. Gen. Arsenio Arugay, chief of the military’s National Capital Region Command, said in an interview that they have been keeping their forces on standby for any eventuality since the India attacks that killed almost 200 people and wounding hundreds more.

“What we have in mind is the terrorist attacks abroad, which may happen to us in the Philippines. We are aware also that there are some terrorist links of local terrorist with the international terrorist groups… those (attacks) might spillover here, and we are preparing for that and we have been keeping our forces or our elements ready in coordination with the Philippine National Police,” he said.

Just last Friday, NCRCOM forces displayed their capability following what happened in India and the latest political turmoil in Bangkok, Thailand.

Arugay said that even before the India attacks, intelligence reports have shown that local terrorists were planning to stage attacks in Metro Manila, but these were believed to have been foiled because of the arrest of some people allegedly connected to the Abu Sayyaf Group.

He said that aside from keeping their troops on alert and on standby, he said commanders are also currently in the process of war gaming every possible scenario for them to be able to formulate plans and respond to these types of situations promptly and efficiently.

“We have doing some tabletop exercises in offices and command posts without the troops, we simulate scenarios and then make some preparations to deal with any contingency and that’s our job here, that’s our mandate to keep NCR secure and stable,” he said.