Aquino 'disturbed' by foiled terror plot in US

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said he was disturbed by a recent foiled terrorist plot aimed at the the United States but assured the public that the Philippines has long been on alert against possible terrorist attacks. Authorities from three continents thwarted on Friday multiple terrorist attacks aimed at the United States from Yemen, where some al-Qaeda members are supposedly maintaining a cell. The initial reports said authorities seized two explosive packages addressed to Chicago-area synagogues and packed aboard cargo jets in England and United Arab Emirates. Yemeni police had already arrested a woman on suspicion of mailing a pair of bombs which was said to be powerful enough to take down airplanes. "Medyo nakakagambala. Pinadala sa mail (It's a little disturbing. [The bombs] were sent via mail)," Aquino said in an interview Sunday night upon returning from his five-day trip to Vietnam for a state visit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Aquino, however, quickly added that Philippine security forces have already tightened security in the country after a bus bombing in North Cotabato last October 21 where at least 10 people were killed and 30 were injured. "So far all of our intel agencies tell us that if there are threats, naghigpit na tayo bago pa ng bombing ng bus lalo pa after ng bombing ng bus dahil naidentify na yung mga in between the built-up areas, merong vulnerabilities. So ang tinitingnan natin ngayon primarily the domestic threats (We have tightened security before the bus bombing, and even more so after the bus bombing because we have identified vulnerabilities in between the built-up areas. We are currently looking primarily at domestic threats)," said the president. Aquino added that he and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed when they met in Vietnam that they would closely coordinate with each other on anti-terrorist activities. Members of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah have allegedly carried out terrorist activities in both Indonesia and the Philippines in the past. Aquino, however, said the government will come up with programs to involve the citizenry in "helping [the government] monitor the entire country at all times." Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said on Sunday that intelligence agencies are closely monitoring possible terror attacks on the Philippines. Mabanta admitted that the Philippines is a perennial target of attacks by the al-Qaeda and its allied organizations because the Philippines is an ally of the US in the fight against terrorist groups. “RP, being a known ally of the USA, is a perennial target by fundamentalists. These incidents should continue to remind us of the imminent dangers," Mabanta said. Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Jose Angel Honrado said earlier in the the day that they are on "heightened vigilance" after the foiled terror attack on the US last week. The MIAA is the agency vested with the power to operate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Honrado, however, said they decided against instituting added security measures to avoid causing unnecessary panic. –VVP, GMANews.TV