MANILA – Filipinos and non-residents are assured on Wednesday by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) official that they are “protected and kept safe” from terror threats in the country.
AFP spokesperson Col. Ramon Zagala said in a statement Tuesday that the military is continuing to fight all kinds of terrorism and violence through increased internal security operations geared at maintaining peace and order.
“We ensure that all citizens, Filipinos or not, as long as they are within our territory, are protected and kept safe from terrorists’ threats. This is also to underscore the importance of the active participation of the populace in defeating terrorism since security is, after all, everyone’s concern,” he said.
The Philippines has received no reports of a possible terror attack, according to Zagala, after the Japanese Embassy in Manila announced on Tuesday that it had received an intelligence report of such a threat in six Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.
“We constantly validate all reports on security matters and it is a continuous process. As per the last review, our threat level is moderate,” he said.
Since the 2017 Marawi siege, the country’s defense and military sectors have been on persistent high alert for terrorism-related operations and threats, according to Department of National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong.
“We are working closely with other relevant government agencies and instrumentalities, such as the Anti-Terrorism Council to continuously monitor and assess terror threats within our borders all year round,” Andolong said in a statement Tuesday.
He stated that the department was aware of the terrorism advice provided by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to its citizens living abroad, and that the advisory will be validated.
The AFP previously noted that it takes any received or disseminated reports of possible terrorism-related activities seriously.
