Police announced yesterday that a joint operation with the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) led to the apprehension of 17 residents of a Muslim compound in Quezon City.
Probers said the 17 men were held for questioning in connection with the five Rizal Day bombings that killed 22 people and injured scores of others.
"It appears that Muslims have become the convenient scapegoats every time there are bombings in Metro Manila," Golez said.
Golez noted that 26 Muslim residents of Maharlika Village in Taguig were also arrested and charged with the bombings of different shopping malls in May last year but not much came out of their arrests.
Most of those arrested last year are still allegedly in the custody of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), he added.
"Curiously, the mall bombings early last year and the deadly bombings last Dec. 30 were immediately preceded by warnings from the PNP that such would happen," Golez said.
Golez said he could not believe that the alleged Muslim bombers could penetrate the high-security areas of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and plant a cellular phone-triggered bomb.
"Even a ticketed passenger cannot go through these security areas without presenting his or her cellular phone to security personnel," he said.
He said last Saturday’s bombings could have been the handiwork of those wanting to divert the people’s attention away from President Estrada’s impeachment trial.
"They expected the new Clarissa (Ocampo) bombs because they were certainly aware of the attempt to cover up through (presidential friend Jaime) Dichaves and Atty. (Estelito) Mendoza’s direct or indirect participation," he added.
The detentions also sparked an eruption of objections from several quarters, including Muslim civic groups which expressed fears of a "crackdown."
Datu Amerol Ambiong, president of the Metro Manila Muslim Peace and Order Coordinating Council, expressed disbelief that the Muslims apprehended in Quezon City were guilty and lamented Muslims’ treatment as "usual suspects" in bombing incidents.
"They should present their evidence," Ambiong said. "If they are really guilty then we have no complaints. However, if they are innocent, which we believe they are, they should be released from custody. They are treating as Muslims as the usual suspects," Ambiong said.
"We are preparing ourselves for a possible crackdown on our communities by police and military elements. They are now so desperate because they want to link the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to the bombings," Ambiong said.
Ambiong said his group will also ask the Commission on Human Rights to look closely into the raids to find out if there are violations of human rights.
He stressed that Muslim communities in Metro Manila have not been used as lairs by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group.
"We are always in coordination with the local leaders of each community. We can assure that the Abu Sayyaf will never be able to enter our communities," he said.
The 17 men under police custody were apprehended at around 3 a.m. from their rented rooms at the second floor of a house on 113 Cotabato st., Muslim Compound, Barangay Culiat in Tandang Sora, Quezon City.
Residents of the Muslim Compound aired various complaints on the harshness of the dragnet that swooped on their community.
Sansia Balambag, a relative of one of the detainees, said two of the government operatives pointed their service firearms on her head and ordered her to sign a paper to attest that an M-16 Armalite rifle and a .38 caliber pistol belongs to her brother-in-law Mohamad "Romeo" Balambang.
According to Sansia, armed men kicked open the doors of their rented rooms and forced the men to fall in line downstairs before they were brought to ISAFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.
Hadji Nur Hassan, chairman of the Muslim Compound, said ISAFP elements showed him a copy of a search warrant issued by a Makati Regional Trial Court before the raid.
The police also had a warrant for six residents of the Muslim compound who were wanted for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Hassan said ISAFP elements did not find the subjects of search warrant and instead raided the rented rooms and carted off the 17 men.
Fautgia Abdullah Menor, 28, said the armed men who raided their room took money amounting to P3,000 of her husband John, who was among the detained, when the operatives failed to find any firearm in their possession.
According to Fautgia, some of the armed men were in Scout Rangers uniform. He said they knocked on the door of the room where they just moved in on Monday and began to search it.
When they failed to recover any firearm, Fautgia said the men took the cash from her husband’s wallet. The money, she said, would be used to pay for the renewal of her husband’s license as a security guard. — With report from Mike Frialde