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Thursday, March 17, 2005
Justice chief favors monitoring of Muslims
ILOILO CITY -- Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said Wednesday he is in favor of keeping an eye on Muslim groups as a deterrent to terror attacks.
The Ilonggo official said large movements of Muslim groups should be monitored by government following the death of over 20 mostly Abu Sayyaf detainees who took over a Manila jail for two days.
"Yes (they should be monitored), in the light of what had happened. That is my position. I feel that we should be overly careful about these things," said Gonzalez.
Government remains vigilant in case the Abu Sayyaf retaliates in Metro Manila for the death of their jailed leaders in a police assault on the Camp Bagong Diwa jail in Bicutan, Taguig.
Gonzalez added, "a large gathering in other place is part of the freedom of assembly," which cannot be stopped unless there is "clear evidence the purpose is other than peaceful."
Sober, vigilant
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in Manila the people must be calm and sober but vigilant in case the Abu Sayyaf retaliates.
"We are appealing for calm and sobriety. Sana ay huwag magkaroon ng anumang kasunod na insidente itong nangyari sa Bicutan (We hope that there won't be violent incidents after what happened in the Bicutan jail)," Bunye said.
"Alam natin itong nangyari ay hangga't maaari ay nais iwasan ng ating mga otoridad (We all know that government authorities did not want the assault to happen), but things happened because the other side simply did not want to take advantage of the opportunities given to them," he said.
He also said the police, military, and local government units have adopted measures to safeguard against destabilization efforts by the Abu Sayyaf.
Asked whether government still considers the Abu Sayyaf as a spent force, Bunye only said: "Ang importante sa atin ay mag-ingat na lang tayo at tayo ay maging mapagmasid (what's important is for us to take extra precautions and be vigilant). Whether it's spent force or not, it's always better to be prudent and exercise the necessary care to be vigilant and cooperate with the authorities if we have information which could lead to the prevention of any destabilization."
DILG probe
Bunye discounted the possibility of an investigation of the Bicutan incident by an independent body saying Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes already started the inquiry upon orders of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
He said impartial investigators should just make themselves available to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) as resource persons.
He said the DILG is also interested in getting to the bottom of the incident in order to prevent it from being repeated and to improve the system at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
He dismissed questions on conflict of interest and command responsibility even if the BJMP is also under Reyes.
"We're saying the agency can cleanse itself and they can investigate the agency. Let's give him a chance to find out what went wrong and implement measures that will prevent a repeat of the same situation," he said. (Sunnex Luzon/Sun.Star Iloilo)
| 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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