Tuesday, December 28, 2010

NCRPO, LRTA, MRT assure public of security measures

By U.S. News Agency / Asian

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), together with the officials of Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT), on Tuesday assured the public of beefed up security measures in different stations of the mass transit system to ensure the safety of the riding public.

According to NCRPO Director Nicanor Bartolome, there will be no spill-over of the Christmas Day blast in Jolo, Sulu even as it ramped up security measures in places where people tend to congregate ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Rizal Day bombing at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) that left scores dead and wounded.

“There is no indication of any attack. We have not monitored any specific threat and we do not see any spill-over of the Jolo blast,” Bartolome said, referring to the explosion inside a church in the war-torn province that left 11 parishioners and the priest injured.

He said that was also the same assessment of the military’s National Capital Region Command (NCRCom), adding that there are enough policemen to thwart any terrorist or criminal elements out to sabotage the Holiday Season.

Bartolome was accompanied by LRT operations managers Ma. Teresa Llera and Wilfredo Bungcarol, chief security officer Jimmy Chua and the NCRPO’s District Directors Chief Supt. Benjardi Mantele (Quezon City Police District); Chief Supt. Roberto Rongavilla of the Manila Police District and Chief Supt. Edgardo Ladao of the Northern Police District.

The inspecting team scrutinized the security procedures being implemented by LRT personnel in Gateway Cubao terminal of LRT Line 2 as well as the inspection of passengers in Farmers/Cubao MRT station before boarding the MRT coach heading south to Taft/Pasay Rotonda station.

They also proceeded to inspect the LRT Line 1 stations along Taft Avenue, stopping at Central Terminal (Arroceros) and visited the exact location of the infamous Rizal Day bombings of 2000 in the LRT-1 Blumentritt station before proceeding to Grand Central station in Monumento, Caloocan City.

The last leg of the inspection was the new MRT line from Caloocan to Munoz station in Quezon City.

“I’m very satisfied with the security measures that the LRT and MRT authorities are implementing”, a visibly pleased Bartolome told the media that accompanied his team.

“Even with the big volume of commuters availing of our railway transit systems, our police patrollers and the security personnel are making sure that a repeat of the December 30, 2000 attack will not happen…Never again”, the official added.

An average of 400,000 passengers ride the LRT on a daily basis.

The inspection was conducted two days before the 10th year of the Rizal Day bombings of 2000 wherein 22 people died and hundreds were injured. Most of the casualties were commuters inside the LRT coach that stopped at the Blumentritt station.

Despite of the absence of any threats, Bartolome said the entire 17,000-strong Metro Manila police force remains on heightened alert status up until the end of the year.

Security measures such as the deployment of additional foot and mobile patrols and bomb-sniffing dogs to malls, bus terminals, seaports, airports, the LRT and the MRT systems and other vital installations have been doubled since the start of the Holiday Season.

Camanava, QC cops ordered to go after ‘sakla’ operators

By Kristine Felisse Mangunay
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:09:00 12/27/2010

Filed Under: Games, Casinos & Gambling, Police, Graft & Corruption

MANILA, Philippines—Police Director Nicanor Bartolome, National Capital Region Police Office chief, has ordered his men in Quezon City and in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) area to intensify their campaign against “sakla,” an illegal cards game.

In a memorandum, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, Bartolome directed Chief Superintendent Edgardo Ladao of the Northern Police District and Chief Supt. Benjardi H. Mantele of the Quezon City Police District to “take appropriate action on the matter.”

They were also asked to immediately submit “a report on the results” to the Presidential Action Center and furnish the NCRPO with a copy.

The December 23 memo was signed by Senior Supt. Carmelo Valmoria, acting chief of the NCRPO regional directorial staff.

The directive was issued in response to a letter sent by concerned citizens complaining about the proliferation of the illegal cards game in the Camanava area, Quezon City and Bulacan province.

The letter, written in Filipino, was sent to President Aquino in July but was received by the Office of the President only on September 21.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, pointed to a resident of Navotas as the financier of the gambling operations in several areas.

The complainants claimed that several high-ranking police officers who were protecting the illegal gambling operations were receiving millions of pesos weekly from the financier.

The group also said a policeman from Caloocan City was in charge of delivering the money to the police officials.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20101227-311251/Camanava-QC-cops-ordered-to-go-after-sakla-operators

PNP sees no spillover of Jolo bombing to Metro

PNP sees no spillover of Jolo bombing to Metro

PNP sees no spillover of Jolo bombing to Metro

Posted on 28 Dec 2010 at 2:25pm

Anthony Vargas

MANILA, Philippines – The National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) on Tuesday allayed fears that the Christmas Day bombing in Jolo, Sulu would be replicated in Metro Manila.

“We don’t see a spillover of what happened in Jolo as there are no indications of attack . . . both the police and military have similar assessments,” NCRPO Director Nicanor Bartolome told reporters in a chance interview.

Nevertheless, the NCRPO, which has remained on heightened alert since last month, intensified security measures at transport terminals, malls, commercial establishment and similar places.

The increased security came two days ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Rizal Day bombing in which 26 people were killed and scores of others injured when Islamist militants bombed two commuter trains in Manila.

On Christmas Day, at least 11 persons, including a priest, were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off in a church inside Camp Asturias, the police headquarters in Jolo.

Police acknowledged receiving information that at least six members of the Abu Sayyaf group (ASG) were planning to carry out bombings in Sulu and that the church was among the targets.

Following the church bombing, the PNP Directorate for Operations (DO) under Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluña ordered increased police visibility and deterrent patrols in malls, churches, entertainment centers, transport terminals, markets, and theme parks.


http://dateline.ph/2010/12/28/pnp-sees-no-spillover-of-jolo-bombing-to-metro/

Security check


NCRPO Director Nicanor Bartolome talks to policemen while a security guard checks the bag of a passenger at a commuter train station in Metro Manila. Bartolome assured the public that there would be no replication in the National Capital Region of the Christmas Day bombing of a church in Jolo, Suklu. (photo courtesy of NCRPO)

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