Manila on alert against ABB

Manila on alert against ABB

MANILA (AFP): The Philippine police chief yesterday put all units on alert to guard against possible terrorist attacks after communist assassins threatened to go after executives of foreign oil firms.

Director General Recaredo Sarmiento said local police commanders, particularly those in Manila, should intensify security around gasoline company facilities and oil industry leaders.

His order came after the the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), the urban assassination team of the communist insurgency, warned they would attack oil executives for their pending petition to raise state-controlled fuel prices.

Sarmiento said the PNP "is not taking the threat lightly and cautions all potential targets to be on the guard."

The ABB has been blamed for killing over 100 policemen, soldiers and civilians in Manila in the 1980s. However, ABB activities have dwindled since the collapse of global communism that led to a bitter internal struggle within the local communist movement.

The three major oil firms operating in the country -- Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp. and Caltex (Philippines) Inc. -- have asked the government to grant them an average increase of 1.19 pesos (0.04 cents) a liter on petroleum products.

But the Energy Department said the increase should only be an average 0.83 centavos per liter.

Shell and Caltex are subsidiaries of the Royal Dutch Shell group and US-based Caltex Petroleum Corp., respectively, while Petron is split between the Philippine government and Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

Leftist groups have already threatened to stage street protests if the government grants the petition of the oil companies. Hikes in fuel prices have long been politically explosive in this country.

"These are emotional issues which have no business I think being discussed in the forum we're talking about," said Caltex Philippines president William Tiffany, reacting to the street protests and the threat of the ABB.

"The difficulties we're having, having a fair and reasonable return from the oil industry are blips on the screen" which American firms considered before investing in the Philippines, Tiffany said, but he added that the Philippines remained "one of the most exciting investment opportunities in the world."