Thursday, October 12, 2006 Police, army tighten watch in Boracay By Ruby P. Silubrico
THE Police Regional Office (PRO) has tightened security in Western Visayas especially in Boracay Island, Aklan by regulating visitors that are coming there.
This preparation came after two separate bombing incidents in Cotabato where more than 10 persons died and around 30 persons were wounded.
According to the Philippine National Police, the Jimaah Islamiyah (JI) is behind these incidents.
The first explosion was at 8 p.m. in a gymnasium at Makilala, North Cotobato. The second came seven hours later at Takurong, a few kilometers away from the site of the first explosion.
Installations
Regional Police Director Geary Barias said that various vital installations in the region are now under their tight watch with the help of the Philippine Army. He said they have intensified their intelligence networking and monitoring.
Barias added that they would also come up with a master plan for Boracay. “There is only one body securing the area and we would like to help (by providing) something more comprehensive that can regular the exits in the area.”
No addition
The regional police office won’t add personnel in Boracay because the augmentation forces were already provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard, Air Force and the Philippine Navy.
“We also coordinated with the local government to have ordinances that will require all island workers to secure an identification card in order to know the ins and outs of the people,” he said.
Boracay has 70 police personnel apart from other units that assist in the coastal areas.
Meanwhile, in Iloilo, Barias has given his men instructions to focus in some ports of the city and monitor the ins and outs of the ships. Checkpoints for 24 hours will also be implemented.
Plan
AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon admitted that the military establishment received information about the plan of the two terrorist networks to carry out bombings in Mindanao to divide the military attention in the ongoing operations in Sulu.
Thousands of government troops are hunting down since August 1 in the outskirts of Sulu ASG chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and JI bombers Dulmatin and Omar Patek in a military operation plan dubbed as "Oplan Ultimatum".
The AFP chief also said that the bombings could have been staged by the JI and ASG to avenge the arrest of Dulmatin's wife, Istiada Oermar Sovie, who was nabbed by military intelligence agents along with her two children last Wednesday in a remote village in Patikul town, Sulu.
"The Abu Sayyaf really is the No. 1 group that we are looking at, including the JI. We got a lot of information when we got the wife of Dulmatin, Istiada and her two children," Esperon said.
Istiada was flown to Metro Manila last Monday to face investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for violation of immigration laws after an initial tactical interrogation by the military intelligence experts in Zamboanga City.
"According to her (Istiada), there is really an intention to sow terror in different areas to get back at us (government) because we are supporting the worldwide coalition against terrorism," Esperon said.
"It appears that the Abu Sayyaf and the JI were behind in retaliation to the arrest of Dulmatin's wife. We are in receipt of reports that that was their intention. It's also possible that this is connected with our relentless operations in Jolo since August 1," he also said.
"They want our attention diverted. We believe they want to divert our operations, so that they will call off our operations in Jolo but our operations will be relentless," added Esperon, referring to the Abu Sayyaf and JI.
The AFP chief said at least two encounters with the group of Janjalani were recorded since Monday night the latest was in Patikul town that resulted in the killing of two soldiers and wounding of eight others. He claimed that the terrorists suffered undetermined number of casualties.
Esperon said the Western Mindanao and the Eastern Mindanao commands have been on alert even before the bombings. "In fact, they have been in that status since we launched 'Oplan Ultimatum' in Jolo," he said.
"We know that while we are stepping up operations in one area and the group of Janjalani, Dulmatin and Omar Patek is cornered, we expect that they are going to take actions in other areas so ease the pressure in Jolo where they are trapped by our troops," said Esperon.
But Esperon said it was also possible that the attacks could have been perpetrated by groups to sabotage the ongoing peace process between the government and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
"There is a possibility that this is a handiwork of some groups who was to sabotage our ongoing peace process with the MILF, our talks with the MILF. That is one angle that we are looking. It's also possible that it was a handiwork of lawless elements," he said.
Esperon also said they are also considering the pronouncement of North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Pinol that the MILF could be behind the attacks. He said MILF rebels opposed to the talks could be responsible for the attacks.
An improvised bomb exploded at the Tacurong City public market in Sultan Kudarat last Tuesday, resulting in the killing of two and wounding of seven others, according to AFP Public Information Officer Bartolome Bacarro.
Three hours later, another bomb exploded in front of the Municipal Hall of Makilala in North Cotabato, killing five persons and wounding 29 others.
Security forces recovered an unexploded improvised bomb about 200 meters from the site.
Also, an explosion happened in front of the South Seas Mall in Magallanes district in Cotabato City. The military said no one was reported killed or injured in the third blast.
When asked what are the other areas being targeted for bombings, Esperon cited Zamboanga City and Carmen town in North Cotabato. He said they have taken security precautions in the areas to deter the plot.
When asked if the terrorists are planning to strike in Metro Manila, Esperon said: "The security establishment always consider Metro Manila as a target but as of now, there is no specific report on planned bombings in Metro Manila."
"Metro Manila could not be discounted as a target just like any city in the world. We cannot guarantee that nothing will happen in Metro Manila," said Esperon, citing the radical Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) as among those who could stage the attacks.
At the same time, Esperon appealed to the legislators to pass the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill. "We hope that the Anti-Terrorism Bill would be passed. We have been debating on this for a long time already," he said.
On the concerns of some legislators that the bill would be abused by the Arroyo government if passed into law, Esperon said those who are opposed to the measure should make moves to establish safeguards against possible abuses.
Lawmakers belonging to administration and opposition blocs in the House of Representatives criticized the twin bombings in North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. The incident has in fact gave Malacañang allies to press further for the immediate passage of the anti-terrorism bill that is pending at the Senate.
Zamboanga del Sur Representative Antonio Cerilles said the twin bombing incidents should now convince opposition senators to soften their stand on the anti-terror bill and support its immediate passage.
Cerilles has particularly called the attention of Senator Aquilino Pimentel, one of the staunchest oppositionist of the anti-terror bill.
"Being a Mindanaoan himself, Nene (Pimentel) should be a staunch supporter of measures against terrorists who have been depriving the region of much needed peace and opportunities for progress," he said.
"It is about time we enact it in view of the continuing terror attacks," Representative Douglas Cagas, another administration congressman, said.
He said: "the Senate leadership should show its political will on the issue instead of allowing paranoid senators to dribble such an important legislation wile the nation watches the death toll in the terror attacks rise."
Cagas also believed that the incidents were perpetrated by JI elements, and was triggered by the arrest of the wife of Dulmatin.
Anak Mindanao party-list Representative Mujiv Hataman, an anti-government congressman, appealed to authorities to stop issuing concluding and premature statements without the benefit of a comprehensive and exhaustive investigation in order not to complicate the stalled peace talks between the government and MILF.
"It is up to authorities to determine the truth behind the bombings. For whatever reasons, these attacks are acts of terrorism that treat civilian lives as collateral damage. We should not let these things pass without justice," Hataman said.
Ilocos Norte Representative Ma. Imelda "Imee" Marcos, an opposition leader, said she could not discount the possibility that more attacks might be perpetrated since police authorities seemed not capable enough to thwart any attacks.
"What do you expect from the PNP these days? They are too much preoccupied with politics and have no time to do their jobs," she said. (Sunnex/RPS)
(October 12, 2006 issue) Write letter to the editor. Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here.
