Blue alert declared in Manila due to APEC summit

The Philippine Armed Forces (AFP) said it had declared a Metro Manila-wide "blue alert", its second highest security status, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting next week.

The APEC summit will be held from Nov 18 to 19, 2015 in the capital city of Manila, the Philippines.

In a press briefing, AFP public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said they raised their alert status from the normal white alert to blue alert on Wednesday to ensure troops are available to respond to any emergency.

Blue alert status means 50 percent of all available troops and assets are on standby for deployment in case of emergencies. Meanwhile, the highest military alert status, which is red alert, mandates all soldiers to be present in their post at all times.

Asked if the military will declared red alert in the coming days, Detoyato said"This will depend on the leadership of the task force," referring to APEC National Joint Task Force headed by PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez.

Detoyato said they raised blue alert to ensure "warm bodies" inside camps, "ready to respond to any contingencies."

Detoyato declined to give the number of troops who are dedicated to the APEC meeting for security reasons. "We have substantial number. I cannot give you the exact number, but rest assured we have substantial number dedicated."

Detoyato said the military has not monitored any threat to the meeting "but all contingencies were already taken into consideration."

Pressed if there are threats from leftist and terrorist groups, Detoyato said "None. There are no information on threats that reached us." Endit