he Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have formed a contingency task force composed of at least 20,000 men to quell any anarchy in the streets of Manila or any coup attempt by extremist forces, local media reported Monday.

Local newspaper Manila Standard-Today quoted reliable sources at Camp Aquinaldo, the AFP headquarters in Quezon City, Metro Manila, as saying that AFP and PNP leaders met Friday night to discuss their contingency plan in the wake of reports that forces from the opposition and the extreme left would recruit people over the weekend to march in the streets in Metro Manila on Monday calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The joint task force is said to be on standby mode and would be mobilized if the situation in the streets becomes unbearable or if any armed group would come out and try to grab power, said the report.

The AFP standby force would be composed of two Army divisions with 3,600 men, apart from some navy, marines, air force and coast guard, while the PNP force is composed of 15,000 men and will be placed under task force command once the situation worsens in the streets or a power grab is in the offing, it said.

The AFP and PNP have vowed to protect constitution and rule of law while staying neutral in the current political crisis, caused by opposition calling for President Arroyo to resign over alleged election fraud.

Source: Xinhua