'No link between Manila, Mindanao bombings'
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/08/2009 12:07 PM
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MANILA - A top security official on Wednesday said the recent spate of bombings in parts of Mindanao is not connected to the recent bomb blast at the Office of the Ombudsman compound and the discovery of two more bombs in Quezon City.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said raw intelligence reports revealed that the bombings in Mindanao and the bombs thrown in at least two government offices and a public place in Metro Manila were carried out by different groups with different motives.
"What is happening in Mindanao is different from what is happening in Manila. The Mindanao situation is more complex. On the other hand, we are already monitoring two groups that could have carried out the attempted bombings in Manila," he said.
He said mainstream opposition groups and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army were not involved in the Manila bomb attempts. "However, the NPA does have some involvement with the group planting the bombs in Metro Manila," he said.
A military spokesman earlier said the bomb attack at the Ombudsman compound and the discovery of two bombs at the compound of the Department of Agriculture and the One Burgundy Plaza, all located in Quezon City, might be part of a destabilization plot ahead of the President's State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the military and the police have suspected groups responsible in past attempts, but could not make arrests due to lack of hard evidence.
Brawner said that based on initial results of the police's ordnance investigations, the three bombs were all made of the military explosive C-4 and were all "amateurly” constructed.
"It was probably done that way to put the blame on the military or any other group," he said.
He said the military explosive is also available in the black market, which makes it accessible to non-military personalities who may be responsible in the Ombudsman bombing.
Gonzales refused to say if the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was involved in the recent bombings in Cotabato City, Jolo and Iligan City that has killed at least seven people and wounded scores others.
"We can't say which group is involved because we need a very thorough investigation. We are also protecting the ongoing peace process in Mindanao," he said.
"We are doing everything we can to stop these bombs. Even the most sophisticated intelligence agencies still cannot stop all the bombings," he added.
He said the Mindanao bombings motive is to sow terror while the attempted bombings in Metro Manila could have been politically-motivated.
Director General Jesus Verzosa, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, said regional police offices in Mindanao are now on a full alert status while units in Luzon and Mindanao were all placed on heightened alert status.
Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman and head of the police's blast investigation team, meanwhile, said investigators are following up on several names who may be involved in the bombings, including the deadly attack at a crowded cathedral in Cotabato City on Sunday morning.
"We already have leads and our investigators are looking at records of suspects in bombing incidents during the previous years," Espina said.
He said the three bombings could have been carried out by the same group. He added that the bombing in Jolo could have been carried out by the group that bombed a convoy of Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan recently, where five of the official's bodyguards were hurt.
The police spokesman, however, declined to name particular groups. He said more evidence needs to be gathered before authorities make conclusions.
Don't blame MILF
Several military officials have initially named the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's Special Operation Group, the Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf bandit group in the fresh of bombings in Mindanao.
Gonzales, however, said security officials should refrain from immediately blaming the MILF or any other groups for the bombings "because we have a peace process in Mindananao," referring to the government's renewed efforts to talk peace with the separatist group.
"Right now we cannot really say which group. We need to thoroughly investigate before blaming certain groups," said the security adviser.
Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro, meanwhile, said that the military and the police have taken out the New People's Army from the list of possible groups responsible in the Mindanao bombings.
"Wala silang nakitang possible link sa nangyari. Walang lumalabas na ganyan sa mga grupo na ito," Teodoro said.
Meanwhile, Teodoro said that President Arroyo has ordered Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, head of the government's Anti-Terrorism Council, to meet with local government officials and village officials nationwide, particularly those in Mindanao, and help them prepare against more possible bombings.
He said Mrs. Arroyo wants the government to strengthen security measures in urban centers in Mindanao to preempt more deadly bombings.
Espina, for his part, said the PNP is thinking of installing more CCTV cameras to augment police visibility in urban centers in Mindanao.
He said CCTV cameras does not only scare away terrorists, but they can also help in identifying suspects in bombings.
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