Armed Forces forms task force for ASEAN Summit

The Armed Forces has formed a task force to enhance security and ensure the safety of foreign and local delegates to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit in Cebu in December.

Dubbed Task Force Alalay, it will be headed by Brig. Gen. Francisco Vila, deputy commander of the Armed Forces Central Command (Centcom).

Task Force Alalay will have under its disposal an Army brigade and two additional battalions from the Army and the Marines, aside from special units from the Air Force, Navy and the Army, to secure all venues of the summit, said Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces public information chief.

The wide-ranging security preparations for the ASEAN Summit, with the Philippine National Police playing the lead role, are aimed at throwing off any terrorist plot during the international event.

According to intelligence reports, the spate of bombings in Central Mindanao could be a dry-run for bigger attacks by suspected Jemaah Islamiyah operatives and renegade Moro Islamic Liberation Front members on selected targets in the coming days.

Bacarro said the 7th Marine Battalion Landing Team which arrived in Manila from Sulu the other day and the Army’s 46th Infantry Battalion based in Samar will be moved to Cebu on the first week of November.

Aside from the two military battalions, Bacarro said Task Force Alalay will utilize troops from the 302nd Infantry Brigade to provide area security.

The task force, according to Bacarro, will have three components that would cover air, sea and land security.

He said the 2nd Tactical Operations Wing will provide air security, while the Naval Forces Central will secure the waters of Cebu. The 302nd Infantry Brigade will take care of land security.

The Armed Forces is also deploying its K9 and explosive ordnance units to Cebu in the coming days, together with an Army civil disturbance management company and a Special Operations Wing (SPOW) team from the Air Force.

"A series of coordinating conferences and ocular inspections has been undertaken with other law enforcement agencies in line with our ongoing security preparations for the upcoming ASEAN Summit," Bacarro said.