MANILA, Philippines — Shut up and just catch them.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. Thursday gave this stern order to the Armed Forces after the military commander for Metro Manila divulged ostensibly raw information about the presence of al-Qaida-linked terrorists in the metropolis.

Teodoro told reporters he had ordered the military high command to look into the basis of Maj. Gen. Jogy Leo Fojas’ statements to the media that three or four bombers linked to Islamist terror groups may have slipped into the capital.

“I want to know how deep and grave the information is and if it were true, what are the operations being done (by the military) because we want to see them apprehended,” Teodoro told reporters after speaking at a presidential forum hosted by the Rotary Club of Intramuros in Manila.

He said he had also reminded the military that only the Anti-Terrorism Council headed by Secretary Eduardo Ermita could talk about matters involving bombings.

“If it were raw intelligence information and still unsubstantiated, such statements should have not been made but I will wait for their explanation,” Teodoro said.

The military’s National Capital Region Command (NCRCom), headed by Fojas, declared a red alert on Wednesday to prevent a spillover into Metro Manila of bombings that had rocked parts of Mindanao, killing eight people.

Citing intelligence reports, Fojas said bomb specialists from the Abu Sayyaf bandit group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)—which is linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida group—had been tracked in the capital.

‘More action, less talk’

But Teodoro said Metro Manila (pop: 11.5 million) remained “relatively safe” and authorities must be careful in issuing reports that might create panic among the public.

“My advice to them is they should do their job, double time, triple time. More action, less talk,” he said.

“Information is crucial now because there are intrigues in the air, August Moon or what not ... It tends to cause panic,” Teodoro said.

He was referring to a supposed plan by some administration-linked people to cut short the term of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Victor Ibrado and replace him with Army Chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, a trusted ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Reached for comment, NCRCom spokesperson Maj. Carlo Ferrer said the unit had not been informed that only the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) could talk about bombing matters.

Ferrer also said the NCRCom remained on red alert.

Fojas also said earlier that the suspected bombers in the metropolis might target military camps and the Congress, where Ms Arroyo is due to deliver her State of the Nation Address on July 27.

Only from Ermita

Ms Arroyo has designated Ermita as the government’s sole spokesperson on the security situation in a move Press Secretary Cerge Remonde claimed would ensure a smooth flow of information.

“We agreed that all the authoritative pronouncements on a situation like this should come from Executive Secretary Ermita, and from no one else in order to avoid false messages,” Remonde said.

Asked if the move was in effect centralizing the disclosure of security information, Undersecretary Gary Olivar said: “It isn’t unusual to have one spokesperson on security matters. These are sensitive matters.”

Undersecretary Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesperson, said the people in Metro Manila “are safe, especially now that the campaign against terror is intensified.”

“Everybody is enjoined to cooperate because in the war on terrorism it’s a shared responsibility,” he said but added the public should be “prepared for the worst.”

He said anything was possible “given the scenario in Mindanao.”

Golez said the authorities went on heightened alert to avert a spillover of the bombings into Metro Manila.

‘Heightened alert’

Backtracking from its earlier announcement, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Thursday lowered its alert status to “heightened alert”—only a day after declaring a full alert.

The NCRPO director, Chief Supt. Roberto Rosales, said he ordered the downgrade after verifying with police intelligence units that there was no imminent threat to Metro Manila.

A full alert means all police personnel should be on duty, while 75 percent are on duty under a heightened alert, he said.

Rosales claimed he raised the alert to “full,” or highest level, at 8 p.m. Wednesday—in effect contradicting his own public information office that said in a press release Wednesday afternoon that a full alert had been declared as early as 8 a.m. that day.

The NCRPO press release received through e-mail at 2:05 p.m. said Rosales ordered the full alert “effective 8 a.m.” to “preempt the possible spillover of terrorist attacks in the wake of the recent incidents of bombing in Mindanao.”

Supt. Rhommel Miranda, chief of the NCRPO Public Information Office, said the press release was based on a memo from Camp Crame to step up security measures.

No Malacañang order

Rosales said he lowered the alert after he talked with his intelligence units and with General Fojas. He said Fojas “was only misquoted” when Fojas spoke about possible terrorists in Metro Manila.

Rosales denied that Malacañang gave the order to scale down the alert so as not to cause panic. He said checkpoints and police visibility had been increased to ensure public safety.

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancafor, ATC spokesperson, said there was no cause for alarm since the reported threat of a bomb attack in Metro Manila was not yet confirmed.

But he also said: “There is always a need for heightened security. We can’t take these things for granted.” With a report from Dona Pazzibugan