{"id":98213,"date":"2017-04-12T23:18:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T03:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=98213"},"modified":"2017-04-12T23:18:05","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T03:18:05","slug":"house-speaker-to-push-for-tougher-security-measures-in-wake-of-bohol-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/04\/12\/house-speaker-to-push-for-tougher-security-measures-in-wake-of-bohol-clash\/","title":{"rendered":"House Speaker to push for tougher security measures in wake of Bohol clash"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"House<\/a>
House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has vowed to beef up security measures through major boosts in military and police spending in next year\u2019s national budget following Tuesday’s firefight between government troops and suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Bohol province.(Photo: Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez\/ Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA\u2014House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has vowed to beef up security measures through major boosts in military and police spending in next year\u2019s national budget following Tuesday’s firefight between government troops and suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Bohol province.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Alvarez cited the need to step up security operations to ward off terror threats in major Philippine tourist spots, including Bohol.<\/p>\n

He said the \u201cthreat of terrorism and criminality\u201d could have dire consequences on the potential economic success of Philippine tourism, including job creation and income opportunities for Filipinos.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe Bohol incident highlights the imperative of further reinforcing our security measures to safeguard top tourist destinations in the country from criminal and terrorist threats,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Alvarez pledged to strengthen the defense capabilities and counterterrorism performance of police and military forces by including investments in the 2018 budget for essential infrastructure and equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201dFor this purpose, I have requested the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), PNP (Philippine National Police), our Philippine Coast Guard and other law enforcement and national security agencies to determine the essential equipment and infrastructure to accomplish this all-important objective,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201dAs Speaker of the House, I will make sure that these will be adequately funded under the 2018 national budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvarez also paid tribute to the three soldiers and one policeman killed in a gun battle against suspected Abu Sayyaf members in Inabanga, Bohol on Tuesday, resulting in the neutralization of at least five bandits.<\/p>\n

\u201dOur Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police deserve our praise and commendation for their vigilance and bravery in preventing the Abu Sayyaf Group from expanding its criminal operations in unleashing terror in the Visayas, particularly in the prime tourist destination, Bohol,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n

\u201dWe salute the three gallant soldiers and a policeman who were killed in the line of duty to protect our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvarez further assured that the families of the fallen troops will receive adequate assistance from the government.<\/p>\n

\u201dWe assure our people that the House of Representatives will do all that is necessary to ensure that our military and law enforcement agencies will always be formidable, fully equipped, and adequately funded to secure our shores against any and all threats, and guarantee the protection not only of our citizenry, but of our visitors as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u2014House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has vowed to beef up security measures through major boosts in military and police …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":92678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1482,1145,16,95],"tags":[17897,12230],"class_list":["post-98213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-bohol-clash","tag-pantaleon-alvarez","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}