3 Mindanao-based groups eyed in Makati bombing
MANILA, Philippines – Three Mindanao-based groups are being eyed as possible suspects in the Makati bus blast that killed five passengers and injured 14 others Tuesday afternoon.
As this developed, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) started fielding marshals on public utility buses to protect the public, while the Northern Police District (NPD) deployed more uniformed policemen at various converging points in the CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela) area, particularly at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro rail Transit (MRT) stations, malls, and the Bonifacio Monumento Circle (BMC).
Likwise, President Benigno S. Aquino III, who had earlier said the explosion could be the handiwork of terrorists, appealed to the public to refrain from making premature assumptions on the culprits behind the bus blast in Makati.
Director Nicanor Bartolome, NCRPO chief, said that they are not ruling out the possibility that the bombing was perpetrated by extremist groups based in Mindanao after probers noted that the explosive used in blasting the Newman Goldliner bus in Makati was the type of bomb used in past bombings in the South.
Among the groups being eyed are the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which is based in Western Mindanao; the al-Khobar extortion group; and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which are based in Central Luzon.
But Chief Supt. Jose Arne delos Santos, director of the Southern Police District (SPD) and commander of the special probe team created to investigate the Newman Goldliner bus bombing, said the artist sketch of the two suspected bombers is not sufficient to link any terror group based in Southern Philippines although such type of bomb, an 81-mm mortar, was found to be the one used in past bombings in Central Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“It is too early to say the bombing was carried out by known terrorist group based in Mindanao, we are continuously investigating and conducting background checks for us to have an intelligent conclusion as to those responsible for this attack,” said Delos Santos in an interview.
The official would not even link so far the extremist Abu Sayyaf, which has claimed responsibility over previous attacks, saying the bomb used during the Valentine’s Day bus bombing in 2005 also in Makati City appeared to be different from the one used last Tuesday.
The IED was reconstructed Wednesday after fragments were recovered from the damaged Newman Goldliner passenger bus and it turned out that a cellphone was used as a triggering device in blowing up the 81-mm mortar shell.
“We are all looking into all angles,” said Bartolome.
Delos Santos said they were able to obtain the artist sketches of the two alleged bombers through the testimonies of some survivors, particularly the bus conductor.
Based on their testimonies, Delos Santos said the two men alighted the bus near the corner of Ayala Avenue and EDSA and several minutes later, the bomb went off.
He revealed that the two persons who died on the spot had just boarded the passenger bus and actually sat on the seats vacated by the two alleged bombers.
“We are currently reviewing all the CCTVs (closed-circuit televisions) because we are hoping that some footages may have caught that portion where they boarded and alighted the bus,” said Delos Santos.
“If we were able to get the images of those two, then it would be a big boost on the investigation we are conducting,” he added.
Security tightened
Authorities have further beefed up the security measures across the country following the bus explosion on EDSA in Makati City.
Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz, Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that the highest security alert status was effected at 5 p.m. Tuesday, or three hours after the bomb blast, in a bid to prevent the repeat of the incident.
“Cruz said the intensified security measures include the strict checking of baggage in bus and mass transport system terminals.
The strict security measures was immediately felt by Metro Rail Transit commuters Wednesday as security guards in every stations are vigorously checking on all bags of the entering passengers.
Bomb scare
On Wednesday, the PNP urged Wednesday the public not to believe or be affected by what it described to be scare rumors being spread through text messages and popular social networks.
“Scare messages of that nature deserve to be disregarded and deleted and not forwarded. Break the scare chain by deleting the message at once,” he added.
Cruz urged the public to immediately report “peddlers of scare rumors” to emergency hotline 117 or through the PNP text hotline 0917-847-5757.
3 angles eyed
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse M. Robredo, meanwhile said authorities looking at three angles – terrorism, diversionary tactics, and destabilization.
“As of now, we are not closing any possibilities,” Robredo said. “It is very clear that the person who made the bomb is an expert and it was not made by any ordinary citizen.”
He also said that a “triggering” device, possibly a mobile phone was used to set the bomb off.
In looking at the diversionary tactics angle, Robredo said the bombing might have been done to shift attention from the thorough investigation being conducted against carjacking syndicates and their possible “protectors,” who are suspected to be officials from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other key governagencies.
Robredo said authorities are considering destabilization measures, with the aim of bringing down the Aquino administration.
Bartolome said police could not say that the blast was the handiwork of a terrorist group trying to do destabilization.
In Manila, security measures have been stepped up at different city ports and vital installations.
Congressmen said that despite the crime wave, this could not be used as an excuse to reimpose the death penalty in the country.
Instead, Reps. Alfredo Benitez (NPC, Negros Occidental) and Teodorico Haresco (Ang Kasangga) said what is urgently needed in the country is to strengthen the intelligence gathering capacity of the police and military.
SIM card registration
With this wave of violence – from the carnap-slays to the Makati bus bombing – there is now a renewed call to register pre-paid cellular SIM (subscriber identity module) cards in a bid to prevent the increasing number of high-profile crime incidents in the country.
Robredo told a Senate inquiry that he would bring to the attention of President Aquino the strong suggestion of Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III for the Bureau of Telecommunications to register pre-paid SIM cards to counter a perceived increasing high-profile crime rate.
But President Aquino said the proposal needs a thorough study as it may invade citizens’ privacy.
Robredo and ranking Philippine National Police (PNP) officials headed by Director General Raul Bacalzo appeared Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs chaired by Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan II.
After a meeting of Cluster C at Malacañang before noon Wednesday, Robredo told Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and other senators that he would bring the matter to the President’s attention.
Robredo and Bacalzo did not answer a query of Enrile: “What is going on in our country?”
Strong hands needed
“The crime wave will continue’’ if the PNP and the DILG vacillate, Enrile said, adding that the crime situation must be handled by those who wield strong hands and not by the faint-hearted who tend to wilt at the onslaught of criticisms, particularly on human rights issues.
Bacalzo assured Sotto that the PNP supports his proposal “100 percent.” (With reports from Czarina Nicole O. Ong, Genalyn D. Kabiling, Mario B. Casayuran, Madel R. Sabater, Ben R. Rosario, Ed Mahilum, Leonard D. Postrado, Kris Bayos, and Rizal Obanil)
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