MANILA – Police and other security forces tightened security as they went on heightened alert in Metro Manila and other urban centers nationwide following the terrorist bombings of two luxury hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia on Friday that killed at least nine people, mostly foreigners.
This developed as Secretary Norberto Gonzales, the national security adviser, disclosed that authorities were ordered to check with Indonesian government authorities whether the bombings was connected to recent similar attacks in Mindanao.
Gonzales said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued the order following reports that the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) suicide bombers were behind the attacks at the Ritz Carlton and the nearby JW Marriott hotels located in an upscale district in downtown Jakarta.
Local and foreign security officers earlier said that JI explosive experts were operating in Mindanao and training members of the Abu Sayyaf militants as well as “rogue†elements of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), who were blamed for recent bombings on the strife-torn island.
A string of explosions rocked Cotabato City, Lanao del Norte and the capital of Jolo in Sulu in early July, which killed at least 20 people and wounded scores of others.
Security officers disclosed that two JI leaders, Umar Patek and Dulmatin, are believed to be still being “coddled†by the Abu Sayyaf after they fled to Mindanao in 2002 following the bombings they had perpetrated on the Indonesian resort island of Bali that resulted in the killing of about 200 tourists, mostly Australians.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of the 125,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP) said that as part of the tightened security in Metro Manila and other urban centers, the PNP regional commands were ordered to increase police visibility as well as develop closer civilian-police relations.
More policemen, uniformed and in plainclothes, have been deployed in crowded areas such as shopping malls as well as bus depots, air and sea terminals and vital government and private installations like power stations, he said.
In particular, the spokesman said the PNP would deploy bomb-sniffing dogs and impose stricter control of hotels in Metro Manila, as he disclosed that the police have long been working with in-house security to enable them to develop keen monitoring.
“We have enough security and some of the hotels have bought sophisticated metal detectors,†the spokesman pointed out. “In coordination with the security detailed at the hotels, we have increased our vigilance and security measures.â€
As the security measures were being put in place, the Philippines joined the rest of the world in denouncing the twin bombings in Jakarta, saying these “dastardly†and “inhumane†acts reinforce the need for vigilance and deeper cooperation, regionally and globally, to suppress acts of terrorism.
In a statement, Secretary Alberto Romulo of the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines fully supports the efforts of the Indonesian government to effectively deal with this “dark†episode and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Philippines and Indonesia belong to the l0-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) that also includes Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma).
According to Romulo, taking away the lives and liberties of people serve no purpose whatsoever and it only undermines the cause for peace and stability sought by peoples of the world.
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