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Troops in Manila ready vs possible spillover of Maguindanao turmoil


The military is bracing for a possible spillover of the current turmoil in Maguindanao province, which is under martial law as the government continues its crackdown on the people behind the grisly November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town. This was after reports that at least 300 supporters of the powerful Ampatuan political clan, the suspects in the massacre that killed 57 people, have left for Metro Manila to escape the ongoing operations by government security forces in Maguindanao. A report by GMA News' Susan Enriquez aired over the special edition of "24 Oras" Sunday night said two tanks are currently on standby in Camp Aguinaldo ready for possible deployment any time. The report said the military's National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) has placed its troops on blue alert - the second highest alert level in the military - last Friday, the day Malacañang issued Proclamation 1959 placing the entire Maguindanao under martial law. "The organic personnel of the NCRCom are on ready section, ready to be deployed any time if the situation so arises," said Lt. Col. Jesus Nava, head of NCRComs' command operations center.


The report said troops from the Army, Navy and Air Force have already been alerted for possible deployment any time. Intelligence information gathering has also been intensified. So far, Metro Manila remains safe from any threat related to the Maguindanao turmoil, Nava said. "The [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is in control of the situation in Manila in coordination with the [Philippine National Police]." The PNP, on the other hand, said the happenings in Maguindanao, about 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, are unlikely to reach the nation's capital, according to a separate report in "24 Oras." "As far as the information that we have received... there are no spillovers here in Metro Manila. We're just reckoning with Maguindanao," said PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina. He belittled reports that 300 men associated with the Ampatuan clan are now in the metropolis. "We have received those reports but these are relatives [of the Ampatuans] who have transferred for the meantime here in Metro Manila because of the ongoing operations in Maguindanao," Espina said. Of the arrested Ampatuan clan members, only Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in the massacre who is also the mayor of Datu Unsay town, is in Manila. He is detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) compound to face the murder charges filed against him. Most of the victims of the massacre were members of the rival Mangudadatu clan. Dozens of journalists were also killed in what is now considered as the worst case of political violence in the country. - KBK, GMANews.TV
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