Philippine military on red alert on eve of ASEAN summit

Philippine military went on nationwide red alert, the highest level, on Wednesday as a precautionary measure on the eve of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit's opening in Cebu province.

Military spokesman Jose Angel Honrado said the red alert was raised at 8 a.m. Wednesday. When under red alert, all leaves are canceled and troops are required to report to their mother units.

"There is no definite threat (of terror attacks).. But we are prepared for all possible scenarios," Armed Forces Public Information Office chief Bartolome Bacarro told reporters.

At the same time, Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. flew to Cebu to check on the security measures set up for the holding of the ASEAN summit.

Esperon said he was satisfied with the local military's preparation for the summit and told government forces in the province to continue implementing the measures already laid out.

At least 5,500 soldiers have been deployed in Cebu as early as December - when the summit was originally scheduled - on top of around 7,000 policemen in the area.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police raised the full alert status in Metro Manila.

Policemen were deployed to protect telecommunication towers, airports, seaports and bus terminals in Metro Manila, according to local reports.

Source: Xinhua