Tom: Heroism of Muslims in Cebu aborts terror plot against summit

The 12th Asean Summit was a success all right but through its duration was a secret that was fraught with danger if not for the "heroism" from the local Muslims themselves.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday revealed there was actually a terror plot aimed at the summit, hatched by terrorists based in Mindanao, but this was aborted mainly because of the resistance of the Muslim community in Cebu.

Osmeña said intelligence reports that reached his office disclosed that these groups in Iligan and Basilan with links to the Jemaah Islamiyah have tried to make contacts with the Muslims in Cebu even before the original schedule of the summit.

The terror plot was aimed at the summit but the supposed perpetrators never got to Cebu because of the "vigorous objections" of local Muslims. "They never got here," the mayor said.

Osmeña described the Muslims in Cebu as the unsung heroes in botching the terror plot. "They played a very important role in protecting our community. Di sila musugot that something will happen here," he said.

Osmeña said that when he got wind of the reported terrorism plan, he was very concerned that the postponement of the summit to January might have placed instead the event in a more vulnerable situation because the activities and routes were already publicized.

The mayor however refused to give further details on the plot, but he said he informed the authorities about the intelligence report.

When the summit last December was reset to January, the national organizing committee insisted that typhoon Seniang was the main cause of the postponement, denying speculations that the reason was something more sinister.

Incidentally, the postponement came shortly after the United States, Britain and Australia issued respective advisories of a threat of terrorist attack in Cebu during the summit, although these warnings did not specify that the threats were aimed at the summit itself.

When the summit was finally held last January 10 and ended last January 15, President Gloria Arroyo boasted that the attendance of 17 heads of Asean states showed the leaders were serious in the quest to solidify cooperation within the region and its dialogue partners.

The heads of state that came to Cebu were from Asean member-countries Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, and from dialogue partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India. Present also was the head of state of Timor Leste, a new country that was accorded "observer" status in some of the summit activities.

Summit organizers went through the toughest times, starting from the challenge of meeting the deadline of completion of the Cebu International Convention Center to the moment of deciding to postpone the event.

The national government spent an estimated P1.2 billion but the Secretary General Marciano Paynor said the Philippines will gain revenues and more investments from other countries. - Joeberth M. Ocao