Aussie police on 'overt op' in RP

Aussie police on 'overt op' in RP

MANILA: Philippine officials confirmed on Tuesday that a
handful of Australian federal police have been providing forensic
expertise, training and intelligence to Filipino counterparts,
and said their operations were not covert.

The officials were reacting to a statement by the Australian
Federal Police in Canberra that it currently has members deployed
in the Philippines to assist in a counterterrorist capacity.

Australian media reports said Australia has been fighting a
covert operation in the Philippines for at least a year, helping
combat an alarming rise in Islamic fundamentalism and terror.

"They're forensic, for training. They come and go," Philippine
national police chief Arturo Lomibao said.

Foreign affairs spokesman Gilbert Asuque said the presence of
Australian police was covered by two agreements -- on combating
terrorism and transnational crime -- which were signed during
Prime Minister John Howard's visit to Manila in 2003.

Asuque denied their presence was covert, saying the visits are
coordinated through the countries' foreign ministries.

The Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph, citing an
unidentified police source, said Australian police were involved
in preventing a Madrid-style bombing of the Manila train system,
tracking terrorists and confirming that a February 2004 ferry
fire that killed 118 was sparked by a terrorist bomb.

Philippine officials said last year that they were receiving
support from Australia's police, mainly dealing with
investigations into terror attacks. The U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation also has been helping Philippine investigators. --
AP