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Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman, said the heightened alert status in all its units in Luzon, including Metro Manila and the Visayas, took effect at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
While police forces in Mindanao, including the police elite Special Action Force (SAF), remain on full alert status since the start of election period on January 10, Espina said policemen assigned in the area were all reminded to intensify the intelligence- gathering and operations as the May 10 elections near.
“This is part of our contingency plan on the expected conduct of rallies across the country, especially in Metro Manila,” said Espina in a phone interview.
“We have to raise our alert status one notch higher in anticipation of any untoward incident that may happen on that day,” he added, referring to the Labor Day on May 1 (Saturday).
Heightened alert status means additional security measures will be employed and that at least 50 percent of the total strength of a police unit must be on duty while full alert status means implementation of highest security plans as possible that includes intensified security measures and that would also require 100 percent attendance of all policemen in every unit.
At this early, Espina called on rally organizers to police their own ranks in the same way that police forces will exercise maximum tolerance in order to prevent violent clashes between rallyists and anti-riot cops.
And Espina said the upgrading of the PNP's security status level serves as election security dry run as it will no longer be lowered until the entire police forces across the country are placed under full alert in preparation for the May 10 polls.
“On May 5 at 8 a.m., the alert status of the entire PNP will be upgraded to full alert,” said Espina.
By AARON B. RECUENCO
April 28, 2010, 6:29pm
Manila Bulliten
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