Police in Metro Manila are on highest security alert status amid threats from local allies and foreign supporters of the international terror group Islamic State.
Director General Ronald dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police, would not categorically say if Metro Manila is still safe from the Maute Group but assured that the National Capital Region Police Office has been intensifying the security in the National Capital Region.
“We are on alert. We cannot say that because they might be able to sneak into. But we are always on guard, we are always on alert,” said Dela Rosa.
The Maute Group has repeatedly pledged allegiance to the ISIS. The military had said there are several foreigners fighting with the Maute gunmen in Marawi City.
Yesterday, a defense official of Indonesia disclosed that there are around 1,200 ISIS members in the Philippines.
Police and military forces are currently battling hundreds of Maute gunmen in Marawi City through ground troops and airstrikes. But the Maute gunmen remain occupying some buildings and houses.
Police in towns around Marawi City have intensified checkpoints and chokepoints to prevent the escape of Maute fighters.
Dela Rosa has disclosed that they have sealed off the escape and supply routes of the Maute gunmen as he expressed belief that it would be only a matter of days before Marawi is freed. (Aaron B. Recuenco)
