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Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Bomb goes off inside police camp; no one hurt
MANILA -- An explosion rocked the headquarters of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City in what officials viewed as a move aimed at embarrassing the force.
Southern Police District Chief Wilfredo Garcia said the improvised explosive devise, placed inside a decommissioned police bus parked inside the compound, went off at around 4 a.m. No one was hurt in the explosion.
"The van has been out of commission for sometime, maybe (the perpetrators) would just like to embarrass the PNP," said Garcia. Investigation is ongoing to establish the identities of those responsible.
Metro Manila Police Chief Vidal Querol said intelligence forces of the police and the military are now trying to identify the members of Taong Bayan at Kawal.
He assured that apart from generating "a little noise", the blasts did not pose any serious threat to the security in Metro Manila.
Camp Bagong Diwa houses the police's maximum-security detention cell where high-profile criminals, including members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group, are being incarcerated.
In a statement sent to media outlets, the shadowy Taong Bayan at Kawal owned up to the latest blast, saying the police reneged on their mandate to serve and protect the Filipino people.
This is the fifth blast to be claimed by the group in the past two weeks. The others were the bombing of the Grepalife building in Makati City and the residence of suspected gambling lord Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda in Pampanga.
The group also claimed responsibility for the bombing of a bus that served as a satellite police office along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and the explosion near a police substation in Lawton, Manila on Sunday.
The group said the latest explosion was in protest of the police's continued support for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is hounded by charges of rigging the results of the May 2004 presidential elections.
"The PNP has blatantly turned its back on its sworn duty to protect and serve the people and instead, concentrates on its role of allowing Ms. Arroyo to cling to power," the group said in the statement.
The PNP-Bomb Data Center is taking part in the investigation into the bombings.
Police spokesman Samuel Pagdilao on Tuesday said the center is comparing evidence gathered from the scene of the explosion sites in the cities of Makati, Quezon, Manila, and Lubao town in Pampanga "to determine whether these (incidents) could be the handiwork of a single perpetrator or group."
Pagdilao said earlier, however, that the bombings in Quezon City, Manila, and Lipa City on Sunday were not related to each other.
"Results of the forensic examination are being analyzed to determine the type of explosives used," said Pagdilao.
He said the center is also reconstructing the explosive devices to determine a bomb signature that might help establish the identity of the bombers.
Pagdilao said other groups could be behind the attacks. "It must be noted that there are desperate groups out to overthrow or destabilize government that have issued threats on several occasions," he said.
He said Police Chief Arturo Lomibao has directed Director Marcelo Ele Jr., of the police's directorate for investigation and detective management, to supervise the ongoing investigation on the bombings.
Pagdilao also said Lomibao has directed all regional police commanders "to implement stricter camp security measures even as he asked the public transacting business within the PNP to bear with the temporary inconvenience and extend utmost cooperation with camp authorities."
He said Lomibao reiterated his appeal to the public "to keep calm, to be objective, and be constantly informed of public interest matters, especially those concerning public safety and security."
In Malacañang, Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor branded the recent spate of bombings since June 11 as terrorist acts committed by people who are already desperate. He said their objective is to bring down President Arroyo.
Defensor said "the enemies of the President want to paint a destabilized atmosphere in the country and they would try anything to put down the administration." He also said it is possible that the attacks will last up to the delivery of Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 24.
He enjoined the public to cooperate and help the police in neutralizing anti-government forces, stressing they do not have any place in a democratic country.
Defensor said members of the Taong Bayan at Kawal, which had already claimed responsibility for the bombings, would soon surface and he expects the group to be composed of people who have long been opposing the administration.
He also said the "legitimate opposition", particularly those who respects democracy, may be involved in destabilization efforts but they would not resort to violence like bombings.
Defensor believes the police are not involved in the bombings.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, Arroyo's spokesman, said it would be better to allow authorities to complete their investigation instead of speculating on who may be involved. He declined to comment on National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales's claim that the opposition may be involved.
Bunye also said that government, like the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines (CBCP), is fighting all forms of dictatorship, subtle or explicit.
The CBCP earlier warned of a "subtle dictatorship" prevailing in the country, citing the way the Arroyo administration is running the nation.
Bunye said the administration has been protecting Filipinos against any assaults to "our democratic way of life, to our Republican institutions, and to the rule of law. Everyone's voice can be heard in a society where a free media prevails." (VR/JMR/Sunnex)
(June 14, 2006 issue)
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