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Philippine soldiers fail anti-terrorism test in Manila
A car rigged with bombs sped through the gates of the country's main army base in Manila on Monday, but Philippine soldiers failed to stop it.
- Agencies
- Published: 14:59 May 19, 2008
Manila: A car rigged with bombs sped through the gates of the country's main army base in Manila on Monday, but Philippine soldiers failed to stop it.
It was only an anti-terror drill, Camp Aguinaldo commander Colonel Ireneo Espino later told reporters, but “there could have been a big explosion, a big embarrassment."
"I am sure I would have been reassigned somewhere else after that," Espino said, expressing dismay that the soldiers failed the test for their preparedness in dealing with terrorism.
Two unmarked cars, one of them rigged with high explosives, were sent to the camp on Manila's main highway.
Soldiers guarding the camp's main gates failed to stop the cars as they sped through the gates and stopped about a hundred metres inside.
"Their reaction was a bit delayed," Espino said. “I don't want such incidents happening here," he said, adding more anti-terror drills would be carried out.
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