PNP intensifies security following Aquino’s Thailand travel

MANILA, Philippines —Police have intensified security measures following President Benigno Aquino III’s trip to Thailand, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Philippine National Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said that they raised a heightened alert status for police covering regions 1 to 8, the National Capital Region Police Office, the PNP National Headquarters and its support units, effective 10 a.m.

Lawmen covering regions 9-13, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as well as the members of the Special Action Force remain on full alert status, said Cruz.

The spokesman stated that unit commanders have been directed to “secure all PNP camps and offices, vital installations, economic key points and places of convergence of people.” He further explained that commanders were “given the discretion to upgrade their alert level based on the prevailing peace and order situation in their respective areas of responsibility.”