MANILA, Philippines -- The Rizal provincial police remains on full alert even as the Philippine National Police (PNP) lowers the alert level in Metro Manila to heightened alert after the Sandiganbayan’s conviction of former president Joseph Estrada for plunder.

Superintendent Joel Garcia, Rizal police operations officer, said the entire province’s police force was still on full alert because of the threat from the New People’s Army (NPA).

The Rizal police had been monitoring the movements of the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, for weeks now.

Officials said they were preparing for possible attacks from NPA, even as its founder Jose Maria Sison has been released after 17 days in Dutch prison on suspicion he ordered from the Netherlands the murders of former comrades in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Deputy Provincial Director for Administration Superintendent Pierre Bucsit said, the numbers of NPA in the province is dwindling. He said there is no significant threat from the rebel group in the province.

He added that they would continue to strictly monitor the security of the former president in his estate in Tanay, Rizal and that Rizal province police chief Senior Superintendent Freddie Panen had recently inspected the security measures in Estrada’s vacation estate.

According to their intelligence reports, Bucsit said there were no threats against Estrada in his villa, where he had been under house arrest during his six-year trial for plunder and perjury.