THE PHILIPPINE National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will hold a series of anti-terror exercises in major urban areas, starting with Davao City within this month. The drills would simulate the response of the police and the military, together with members of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Office of Civil Defense, in terror attack scenarios. “We particularly seek the participation of barangay officials because the simultaneous exercises will require a lockdown of the city and the members of our communities need to be informed,” Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio told the media earlier this week. The focus sites for the exercises, dubbed Southern Storm Drills, would be some of the vital facilities in the city, including the Davao International Airport, seaports and coastal areas that are possible entry points for terrorists. Ms. Carpio said the drills would also include preparations for attacks by members of the New People’s Army, the armed group of the communist movement in the country. The anti-terror exercises would also be carried out in the National Capital Region and Cebu. — Carmencita A. Carillo

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