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Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Government orders manhunt for ferry bombers
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Monday ordered the military and the police to track down the perpetrators of the ferry bombing in Basilan Sunday that injured some 30 persons including children.
Arroyo also directed authorities to assist and ensure the treatment of the victims "with whom I deeply sympathize".
"I condemn the ferry bombing in Basilan as a crime against peace and humanity that will not go unpunished. I have directed our security forces to pinpoint and hunt down the perpetrators who have shown a total disregard for the law and of human life," she said.
Arroyo instructed the security forces to heighten all security measures and speed up community-based detection and prevention mechanisms in anticipation of similar incidents.
The President, in a roundtable conference on energy and oil Monday afternoon, said she has also talked to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, whom she acknowledged for his contributions to peace and order in some parts of Mindanao.
Duterte, in 2003, was named crisis manager for central and southeastern Mindanao following the bombing and other terrorist attacks in the regions, including the bombing at the Sasa Wharf and Davao international Airport in Davao City in March and April 2003, respectively.
Arroyo, in branding the incident as a terrorist act, said authorities will comb all known lairs of terrorist cells in the cities and countryside to cripple if not decimate the terrorists.
"Terrorism will always strive to frustrate our efforts at peace and development and disrupt the day-to-day enterprise of ordinary citizens but we shall not be cowed. We shall fight terror as strongly as we embrace peace and development, global alliances and interfaith solidarity among decent and law-abiding Filipinos," she said.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, presidential spokesman, called on the public to cooperate in the government's campaign and to report any information that they may have to the appropriate authorities.
He said the Philippines has been exchanging intelligence information with other countries to strengthen the campaign.
Bunye defended Arroyo and other law enforcement groups from criticism that despite having millions of pesos worth of funding for its intelligence work, it has failed to anticipate or prevent the Basilan attack.
"You know one of the most powerful countries in the world, with so much funds and so much expertise failed to detect the 9/11 (September 11 terror) attack. Of course it's no excuse but we're trying our best to prevent this and we would like to appeal for the cooperation of the citizens to share whatever information they have for us to prevent a repeat of this incident but we cannot guarantee that this will not be repeated," Bunye said.
In Metro Manila, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Vidal Querol said Monday that he has placed the entire police force in Metro Manila on "heightened alert" following the Basilan bombing.
Querol said he assigned more policemen to vital installations and other public places in the metropolis to avert a repeat of a similar incident.
He said he also deployed marshals to bus terminals while checkpoints have been set up in entry points outside Metro Manila. He added he also alerted enough number of policemen to protect the people in the event of any terrorist attack.
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz asked the public to be vigilant in the face of reports that the international terrorist al-Qaeda network has identified the Philippines as a second priority target for attacks.
Earlier reports quoted South Korean officials as saying that the al-Qaeda has classified South Korea, Philippines, and Japan as secondary priority targets after first priority targets US, Britain, and Australia.
The National Intelligence Service of South Korea reportedly got the information from a captured al-Qaeda member. The report did not give the name of the suspected terrorist or the circumstances of his arrest.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the bombing of m/v Dona Ramona last Sunday indicates the laxity of law enforcement and maritime personnel in implementing security measures that they are mandated to strictly comply with in the light of intelligence reports that 10 suspected Indonesian terrorists belonging to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) slipped into Mindanao lately.
The senator voiced dismay over the indefinite suspension of the government-Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) peace talks, which has caused uncertainty over the peace and order condition in Mindanao.
Pimentel said the Moro International Liberation Front (MILF), like the National Democratic Front (NDF), has had misgivings whether to continue negotiating with the government of President Arroyo due to her lack of credibility.
Pimentel said the peace process will only work if Arroyo will finally resign. (JMR/JFF/JPM/Sunnex)
(August 30, 2005 issue)
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