PGMA's Statement on the Resolved Short-Lived Takeover of the NAIA Control Tower |
Press Briefing Room, Kalayaan Hall, Malacanang (08 Nov 2003) |
| The situation in the Ninoy
Aquino international airport has been resolved. Nothing will ever justify the taking over of an international airport control tower and prejudice the lives of air passengers. There can be absolutely no excuse to terrorize the public in this manner. I commend the swift and decisive response of our aviation security units to this incident. They acted firmly... They acted under firmly established contingency plans and procedures to protect our national security. I'm glad that after a spate of high alarm, all passengers, guests and airport personnel are out of harm's way. I assure our people and the world that our airport is safe and sound. Security and operational facilities and procedures are uninterrupted. Alternate control tower facilities have been set up, and inbound and outbound flights will proceed as scheduled. The nature, course and magnitude of this incident show that it is not an attempt to take over the government. No unauthorized movements of troops have been detected as of this time anywhere in the country. No unusual threats directly or remotely related to the incident have been monitored. As a precautionary measure, the people and military are on maximum alert. Checkpoints along the perimeter of metro manila have been established. Security monitoring posts are up in the provinces and key urban centers. I ask the public to remain calm, cooperate with the authorities, and bear with the temporary inconveniences brought about by this incident. There's no cause for alarm. The situation has been resolved. We will scale down our alerts quickly as complete normalcy is established. |