A photo of Pope Francis stands in front of a Philippine national flag as preparations for his visit continue at Manila’s Rizal park, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015. AP
MANILA, Philippines—Three days before Pope Francis’ visit, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reiterated that there is no terror threat based on their security assessments.
“So far we have no serious threat coming out of our radar screen,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Restituto Padilla said on Monday.
The statement denies a news report that the Philippine National Police Regional Investigation and Detection Management Division supposedly issued a memorandum dated January 5 to its police district offices nationwide to monitor possible terrorist cells who might create trouble during the pope’s visit.
The memo was supposedly issued after the the terrorist attack in Paris last week that left 17 people killed.
However, the report also said that at least five police chiefs in Metro Manila denied the existence of such memo.
Padilla said there is little possibility that local threat groups would attack during the pope’s stay here.
“The New People’s Army declared ceasefire, so wala na yan. Sa Abu Sayyaf tuloy-tuloy ang law enforcement operation sa Jolo,” he said.
As for the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Padilla said that that the group is focused on their stand against the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
The spokesperson also said that their only worry right now is “crowd management.”
“We are praying that the outcome will be peaceful and successful,” Padilla said.
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