Security at NBI tightened after mystery SUV yields firearms, grenade

Police tightened security around the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office in Manila after finding firearms and a grenade inside a mysterious sport utility vehicle parked nearby Tuesday night. Radio dzBB reported early Wednesday that a white Mitsubishi Pajero (EMS-333) was found at the corner of Padre Faura and Leon Guinto Streets in Manila at 10 p.m. Tuesday. By early Wednesday morning, firearm-wielding NBI sentries stood guard at the bureau's Taft Avenue entrance. According to the report, authorities found an M-16 rifle, a shotgun and a grenade during a search inside the suspicious vehicle, which was registered to one Cesar Detera of Quezon City. It was not clear whether the incident has something to do with the November 23 Maguindanao massacre, of which one of the suspects has been detained in a facility at NBI headquarters. Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. has been under NBI custody since late November as one of the suspects of the Nov. 23 massacre. Government security forces have tightened security in Metro Manila to prevent a spillover of the political clan war that triggered by the carnage. Manila Police District Mobile Division head Superintendent Ferdinand Quirante said they are inviting Detera for questioning. A separate report by dzBB's Denevin Macaranas said police described the Pajero as "dirty," with mud and soil inside when a police team opened it to recover the firearms. The sighting of the vehicle caused tension among residents in the area, alerting the police, the report added. - LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV