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Manila: The government of the Philippines has tightened its watch for the possible entry of terrorists who might take advantage of the political divisions which had riled the country for months.
Commissioner Marcelino Libanan had issued an order to all ports of entry to link up their terrorist database with that of Interpol.
"We don't take lightly reports of planned bomb attacks against embassies of United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Israel," Libanan said.
Dangerous times
"We are living in extremely dangerous times as foreign terrorists are taking advantage of the political situation in the country."
Jordanians Khalil Hasan Al Alih and Walid Abu Aisem and Indonesian Bae Haki were arrested last month on separate raids conducted by security forces in Manila and in Central Philippine's Boracay resort.
The Philippine immigrations chief said terrorists from other countries are taking advantage of the lenient immigration laws to enter the Philippines virtually at will.
"Citizens from 146 countries enter the Philippines without having to secure visas and that makes the task of monitoring foreigners considerably more difficult," Libanan said.
To fill in the gap on monitoring the whereabouts of foreigners and possible terrorists in the country, Libanan has also ordered the creation of a task force to strengthen the immigration bureau's intelligence gathering capability.
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