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Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Muslim seeks independent probe; CHR orders inquiry
Police officials yesterday maintained that the shootout last May 11 that killed two suspected members of a terrorist group was a legitimate operation.
Supt. Lani-o Nerez, PRO 7 deputy regional director for operations, and Supt. Augusto Mar-quez Jr., chief of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID), issued the statements in reaction to the fears earlier raised by a leader of Cebu Muslim community that last Thursday’s incident was “scripted.”
Easy
“It’s easy to speculate. But speculation is far from the truth. It was a legitimate operation,” Nerez said.
“There is always that presumption of regularity in the performance of duty. If they can come up with evidence proving otherwise then we will sue the police. Kung wala to mapatay namo, masuko ang tawo sa police. Karon nga napatay, suko gihapon ang tawo sa pulis. It’s damn if you do, damn if you don’t,” Marquez also said.
A Muslim leader in Metro Cebu, who examined the remains of Ali Usop, alias Datu Ismael “Alex” Usop, and Datu Niel Ulama, alias Victor Ulama Zime-nez, urged authorities to conduct an independent probe to find out if the recent terror attempt in Cebu was merely a scenario.
Ustaz Najeeb Rasul, president of the Voice of Islam of the Philippines, said the Federation of Muslim Association in Metro Cebu prefers that the National Bureau of Investigation and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) do the investigation.
In a separate interview, CHR 7 Director Alejandro Alonzo said his office will look into possible foul play in the death of Usop and Ulama.
For his part, Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south district) called on their counterparts in the Senate to speed up the approval of the Senate version of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, saying “we are the only country in Asia that has not passed one.”
Cebu City Mayor Osmeña, in a news conference yesterday, said he has been saying terrorists will try hitting Cebu because of the Association of Southeast Asian summit that will be held here in December.
Unstable.
He said the world is “full of unpredictable, unstable people” who might just be out to get mileage because of a “visible, high-level activity” to be held in Cebu.
He has been fretting about security preparations for the summit.
He was not particularly ecstatic about having 15,000 or so policemen deployed in Cebu, saying potential terrorists could even pose as policemen or military men by wearing their uniforms to infiltrate the venue.
“Assassins do not mind being caught. They don’t worry about them getting away. They just worry about it getting done,” Osmeña said.
Usop and Ulama were identified as the ones who planted a bomb at one of the entrances of the SM City mall last Thursday night.
The two, according to Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau Chief Pablo Labra II, were members of the Rajah Solaiman Movement who had pending cases with the Department of Justice for their part in the Feb. 14, 2005 bombing in Manila.
The leader of the Rajah Solaiman group reportedly grew up and studied in Cebu.
Safety
In a separate interview, Cebu City Police Chief Melvin Gayotin said they barred the media and curious onlookers from the crime scene because they cannot allow the safety of the people to be compromised.
The Cebu Port Authority (CPA), meanwhile, will install P20 million worth of walkthrough metal detectors for vessel passengers and X-ray machines for baggage monitoring at its passenger terminals to improve the security of ports amid fears of terrorism and other forms of criminalities.
CPA General Manager Mariano C.J. Martinez said they are focusing on the protection of passengers, while cargoes are jointly monitored and secured by CPA, the shipping lines, the cargo-handling service providers and the shippers. (JST/GC/RHM/EOB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 17, 2006 issue)
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