President Duterte yesterday said that he has ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to start training their men like special action forces to fight the terrorists in Mindanao.

In his speech in Camp Crame for the 116th Police Service Anniversary of the PNP, the President said he wanted soldiers and the police trained like the Special Action Force (SAF) despite the lack of funds.

“I do not have the money yet but I am ordering the AFP to start the training of about 5,000 – and sa (in the) police 2,000 – I want you SAF-trained,” Duterte said.

He emphasized the need for such training to enhance contingency security measures in case local terror groups launch simultaneous bomb attacks in the country.

The President also met with the top police officials in Camp Crame and asked them to prepare in case the Marawi siege by Islamic militants happens in three to five other places in the country.

“If this kind of thing happens even in three, four, five places, walang giyera eh, it’s about terrorism. Three, four, five, six, with many explosives, how do you think we can cope up?” Duterte said during the business forum in Mandaluyong City last Wednesday.

“And that’s why I went to the police. I spent the whole day ‘yung talking to the police then reviewing the intelligence setup including the… I told them to be very careful about these things. I really went there to warn them about these contingencies,” he said.

For now, Duterte said the country has enough policemen to secure the country but would need more to deal with future threats.

“Sabi ko, think of just three same incidents in Luzon or in the Greater Manila area. Itong numbers natin ngayon, shi-shrink ito [Our numbers will shrink] because the trouble improves from right in the city,” he said.

President Duterte recently met with several senators to share intelligence reports about the extremists’ plan to attack three more cities in Mindanao. This was the reason used by the President to seek additional 20,000 soldiers and 10,000 policemen to boost the country’s security forces to deal with the threat of terrorism and rebellion.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos and Genalyn Kabiling

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