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Thursday, March 17, 2005
Alert up in city; Sayyaf attack feared
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- The city remains on high alert for possible retaliatory moves from the Abu Sayyaf following the death of its top four leaders in a Manila jail Tuesday.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he just hoped the group would understand that government "has a the right to protect itself."
Despite the alert status, the city successfully celebrated its 68th charter anniversary Wednesday.
More than a thousand police personnel and 500 Army soldiers were deployed to guard the city during Wednesday's celebration.
Mayor Duterte said in an interview after the Parada Dabawenyos that he is grateful to the people for turning up and joining the grand civic parade despite threats of terror attack in the city.
Duterte also expressed sadness over the bloody siege in the Camp Bagong Diwa jail in Taguig, saying government had no other course but to do what it thought was appropriate.
Authorities had to forcibly retake Tuesday the jail from Abu Sayyaf detainees, resulting in the death of 22 inmates and a policeman.
The mayor said while the threat of retaliation remains, he is still hoping the Abu Sayyaf and their supporters will not do anything to harm innocent civilians.
Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad said the retaliation was an expected reaction since the group was the one aggrieved in the incident.
Police had to storm the Camp Bagong Diwa detention center after Abu Sayyaf inmates refused to surrender peacefully even after agreements have been made regarding their demands for surrender.
Three Abu Sayyaf inmates on Monday grabbed three short firearms from jail guards while queuing for breakfast in a botched escape bid.
The bandits opened fire on jail officers killing three and wounding five others.
Then came the standoff before the assault last Tuesday.
Trinidad said what the government must do is secure the country from possible threats and at the same time address the issues and concerns raised by the Abu Sayyaf.
She also called on the police and military authorities not to be careless in their security efforts and refrain from indiscriminately assaulting any Muslim groups since they would just make things worse.
Major Magno Adalin, Task Force Aguila chief, assured the public their security plan has long been in place even before the Taguig incident.
Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman, in a radio interview Tuesday, warned of retaliation from the group.
"To you people, you don't have to bring the war to Mindanao," self-proclaimed Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sulaiman told radio dzBB, referring to the Muslim homeland in the south where the military has launched offensives against militants.
"We will bring it right into your doorstep," he said.
| Post your experiences to the Sun.Star Graduation section. Click here. | 2005-02-24 04:52:02
mcalvo - My graduation was unforgettable to me and to my classmates. I was so drunk the night before graduation. During the ceremony i dozed to the point of snooring even when i was already standing i was half sleeping. Our dean has to call my name twice and the person behind me has to push me just to wake me up... graduations are memorable...enjoy and congratulations to all graduates!
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(March 17, 2005 issue)
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