President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Sunday ordered government security forces to be on high alert following the foiled Christmas Day bid to blow up an American airline carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew, a Cabinet official said. Speaking for the president, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the attempt of a Nigerian man to blow up a Delta Airlines plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 25 was “barbaric” and could have killed hundreds of people. “All police authorities and military should be on heightened alert to prevent such incident from happening in the country,” Bello said over government radio. The government's heightened alert meant tighter security measures at airports as well as other vital public installations, Bello said. He said the Arroyo government joins the rest of the world in denouncing the foiled attemp by a suspected Al-Qaeda member to light an explosive device strapped to his body aboard Delta Airlines Flight 253. Philippine airport authorities earlier assured air passengers that there is no cause for alarm despite the latest foiled US terrorist attack. In a statement, the management of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) said security measures at the NAIA terminals were in place and that passengers did not have worry about any security concerns. To ease passenger anxiety, Alfonso Cusi, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), said he has ordered maximum police visibility at the baggage build-up and public areas of the NAIA. He also ordered the deployment of K-9 dogs. He said body frisking will be compulsory before passengers board their planes.
