Tight security at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters proved useless against a rocket-propelled grenade explosion that rocked Camp Crame before dawn yesterday.
No one was hurt in the explosion at 4:05 a.m. at the PNP mini-park inside the camp, some 50 meters from the main headquarters building and near the residence of PNP chief Director General Panfilo Lacson.
Earlier, police said there were two explosions but PNP spokesman Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said witnesses appeared to have mistaken the sound of the launcher being fired for a second blast.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is fighting for a separate state in Mindanao, refused to confirm or deny that it was behind the blast.
"We neither confirm nor deny that the MILF is involved," said Ed Kabalu, an MILF leader. He, however, reiterated their threat to strike in Metro Manila.
"If orders are given or orders from the higher-ups come down, giving us the go-signal to attack, then we cannot do otherwise," he said.
Lacson has ordered a full investigation on the explosion, but initial details were scarce as Lacson himself had refused to make any comment.
"I will just wait for the results of the investigation before making any statements," Lacson said.
At Malacañang, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno said there was no cause for alarm and that government security forces are prepared for similar incidents in the future.
"The police had expected urban attacks or a spillage of terrorist activities. But authorities have been warned about this and the police have been on full alert on this," Puno said, adding the extremists may be merely attempting to divert attention from the siege in Western Mindanao.
"We have to keep to our basic objective and not be deterred," he said, referring to the government's offensive to clear the Narciso Ramos Highway in Mindanao of checkpoints of the secessionist guerrillas and the chase after the extremists Abu Sayyaf.
Another MILF official, however, has completely denied participation in the grenade attack.
"We do not have anything to do with that. Our forces are concentrated in Mindanao," said the official who asked not to be identified.
The official added that the MILF has nothing against the police, noting that if they are ever ordered to launch an attack in Metro Manila, they would have Camp Aguinaldo, the military headquarters, as the target.
"The PNP has no bad record with us. And we do not have any problem with Lacson. He has not given us a hard time," he said.
Lacson has refused to say if his residence was the intended target of the grenade attack.
The PNP's Explosives and Ordnance Disposal team said the blast left an eight-inch wide crater and sent shrapnel flying to the police headquarters building.
The team believe the explosive was fired from the nearby flyover along EDSA by unknown assailants.
Rocket-propelled grenades are usually Soviet or Chinese made and can be fired from a distance of 300 meters. Experts say that this weapon, which is gaining popularity among rebel groups in the Middle East and Latin America, is capable of blasting its way through a 12-inch armor plate.
The weapon's power has been tested by Somali rebels in bringing down an American Blackhawk helicopter, the experts noted.
Because of the blast, the PNP leadership decided to tighten further the already strict security inside and around Camp Crame. Taxis and pedestrians are now checked thoroughly before being allowed to enter the camp.
Bartolome said the fact that the explosive was launched from outside the camp was proof that the PNP headquarters is heavily secured. He refused to make any accusation as to could be responsible for the attack.
"Rocket-propelled grenades are the favorite weapons not only of the MILF but also of the communist New People's Army (NPA)," he said.
Last week, the National Democratic Front (NDF) issued an order to all communist rebels in the country to intensify their attacks on police and military targets.
NDF spokesman Luis Jalandoni was quoted as saying that the NPA "should take advantage" of the military's concentration in Mindanao. --