Police to probe ‘paint bombing’ of Hillary Clinton’s convoy

PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will look into possible lapses by the security detail assigned to the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after an incident Wednesday where leftist activists were able to get close enough to hurl red paint and placards at cars in her convoy.

At the same time, however, PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome defended the police personnel assigned to Clinton’s detail, saying their security plan had been complete and initial preparations were adequate.

“We will see (if sanctions are called for) but as far as the initial preparations are concerned, we saw that they [police] did what they could. But despite their thorough preparations, that incident still happened,” Bartolome told reporters.

“It doesn’t mean that they did nothing. From the very start, the preparations were very thorough,” he repeated in an ambush interview on the sidelines of the Defense and Sporting Arms Show at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Bartolome said the National Capital Region Police Office laid out the security plan very carefully in coordination with other units, including the Highway Patrol Group and Police Security Protection Group.

He said the police would draw lessons from the incident to improve procedures. He said that in the future charges would be filed against those attempt similar “paint bomb” attacks.

According to reports, about 50 protesters kicked the vehicles that were part of Clinton’s convoy and threw red paint and placards on the cars, prompting Filipino security officers and an American to jump out and draw their firearms but fire no shots.

The reports quoted an Agence France Presse photographer as saying the incident occurred after Clinton’s visit to President Aquino at Malacañang.

The leftist youth group Anakbayan later owned up to the attack, saying that around 50 of its members hurled red water-based paint bombs and their placards at Clinton’s convoy.