15 November 2015•Update: 15 November 2015
By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines
A former Philippines president warned the country's armed forces and police Sunday to closely monitor an al Qaeda-linked group he believes may be planning an attack at a summit of world leaders due to be held Wednesday and Thursday.
Fidel Ramos -- a former military general and Korean war veteran -- told DZMM radio that the Abu Sayyaf had already shown itself capable of staging a terror attack in the capital, calling for intelligence operations to be ramped up.
Asked whether foreign terrorist groups posed a threat to the 2015 APEC Leaders' Conference in Manila on Nov. 18-19, he said that "if it could happen [in Paris], it could happen anywhere", adding that any attack in the South East Asia region would have repercussions in the Philippines.
However, he sees the Abu Sayyaf as the principal threat, noting that it had already carried out a deadly terror attack in Manila in 2011.
President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the world leaders attending the summit, the second to be held in the Philippines since 1996.
Tight security measures include the deployment of 30,000 security personnel, the closure of several major streets in Manila and the rerouting of traffic.
The Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent Muslim province in the Philippines.
It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.
