Metro Manila put under heightened alert after Basilan blast

NCRPO director Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar. INQUIRER file photo

Metro Manila police were placed on a heightened state of alert Thursday in the wake of the Basilan bombing that left 11 people dead.

But National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Guillermo Eleazar said there was nothing to worry about.

“Wala tayong dapat alalahanin. Eto lang ay ating SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) dahil nga sa nangyari. We want that the alert status dito sa Metro Manila ay ating itaas,”  Eleazar told CNN Philippines.

(There is nothing to worry about. This is just our SOP because of what happened. We want to heighten the alert status here in Metro Manila.)

He said there was no terror threat in Metro Manila, giving assurances that the region remains “safe and secure.”

Eleven persons were killed while five others were critically injured after a passenger van exploded 15 meters away from a checkpoint in Lamitan City in Basilan early Tuesday morning.

READ: 11 killed as van explodes in Basilan

Under heightened alert status, 60 percent of the Metro Manila police force  should be present in their stations, doing routine patrols and checkpoints, he said.

Eleazar also denied the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS was behind the attack, saying it is a mere “propaganda.”