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Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Moro rebels to help arrest Mindanao bombers
MANILA -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has welcomed the move of the police in Southwestern Mindanao in asking them to go after perpetrators of the recent bomb attacks in the South.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has instructed the Armed Forces to closely coordinate with the MILF for the apprehension of an alleged MILF leader identified as a principal suspect in last week's bombings in Central Mindanao.
Marine Brigadier General Ben Dolorfino on Monday said he has made a formal coordination with his counterpart in the secessionist movement for the arrest of Abdul Basit Usman.
Dolorfino is the head of the government Adhoc Joint Action Group that conducts joint operations with MILF fighters. He is the concurrent commander of the military's National Capital Region Command (NCRcom) based in Camp Aguinaldo.
According to Dolorfino, the MILF Adhoc Joint Action Group agreed to help in the interdiction of Usman. But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said he was not aware if there was indeed formal coordination with their group for the arrest of Usman.
"Maybe it's still in progress," said Kabalu as he denied that the MILF has a commander by the name Bashir Basit Usman.
Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol blamed the MILF on Wednesday for the bombings in Tacurong, Makilala and Cotabato City.
National Police Director General Oscar Calderon earlier declared that the Philippine National Police has no direct evidence that would link the MILF to the three bomb attacks.
Calderon said the bomb attacks appear to be an offshoot of the recent arrest of Dulmatin's wife Istiada Oemar Sovie and her two sons by government agents in Patikul, Sulu last week.
She confirmed that her husband and another JI bomb expert, Umar Patek, are hiding in Jolo and are being protected by the Abu Sayyaf.
Dulmatin and fellow Indonesian, Patek, have been linked to the October 2002 bombings at a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia that killed more than 200 people, mostly Australian tourists.
MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said they are more than willing to provide any help to the government.
Iqbal said they are ready to help run after the suspected bombers through the Adhoc Joint Action Group, a body composed of the Armed Forces, police and the MILF tasked to go after all criminals, terrorists and other lawless elements in MILF areas.
In the case of Usman, Iqbal said he cannot confirm whether the suspected bomber had a stint with the MILF's 105th Brigade.
But he admitted that Usman may have established some connections with certain MILF members who might have crossed their paths during past operations in the area.
In Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye warned the public to be on guard always and the spate of bombings in Mindanao last week should serve as another wake-up call for everyone as terrorism never sleeps.
"Last week's attacks only strengthened our resolve to wipe out evil and we assure the public that the authorities are on target and it is only a matter of time before these criminals are brought to justice," he said.
The warning was made as intelligence agents are tracking down two JI-trained bombers are reportedly planning to stage attacks in populated areas at the National Capital Region (NCR)
Members of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, a group of Christians who converted to Islam allied with the al-Qaida-linked JI and the Abu Sayyaf, are believed to be in provinces near Manila, Dolorfino said.
"We are now focusing on two personalities who have capability to prepare bombs, but we have not monitored them so far in the National Capital Region. Most likely they are in neighboring provinces," Dolorfino said.
They were not identified publicly for fears they might slip away.
Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr., the national police spokesman, said the police intelligence service is closely monitoring the Rajah Solaiman Movement.
General Hermogenes Esperon, the armed forces chief of staff, told reporters there were 27 identified members of the group and six of them have been arrested, including the suspected leader, Hilarion del Rosario Santos III, also known as Ahmed Santos.
"We hope to be able to neutralize the others," he said. "They remain a threat and therefore our target."
Esperon added that no specific plans to sow terror in the capital have been monitored.
The warning came after a series of bombings in the southern Philippines last week, prompting authorities to place the restive region under "extreme critical alert" -- the highest of a four-step public terror warning system.
Six people were killed and 29 wounded in one of the blasts last Tuesday. On Sunday, a small explosion at a police camp on Jolo wounded two people, and troops dismantled another explosive device just hours before it was timed to go off.
Authorities blamed two Indonesian militants, and said the attacks may be in retaliation for the Oct. 3 arrest of the wife of Dulmatin, one of the Indonesians hiding on Jolo and a key suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings. (AP/VR/Sunnex)
(October 17, 2006 issue)
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