A government source told The STAR that Presidential Adviser for Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales advised President Arroyo that Agus Dwikarna be handed over to Jakarta to improve bilateral relations.
The recommendation came amid strong opposition from key security advisers, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez and National Security Adviser Roilo Golez.
Chief Superintendent Roberto Delfin said it would set back the government’s anti-terrorism campaign.
"The move might even cause some demoralization to our police who worked so hard," Delfin, director for intelligence of the Philippine National Police, said.
Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal, PNP Intelligence Group director, said: "It will be up to the National Security Adviser, the Department of Justice and the national government to decide that."
Caringal and Delfin batted for the passage of an anti-terrorism law, saying the lack of which is hampering the government’s anti-terrorism drive.
Perez earlier said there had been pressure from some Indonesian officials for Dwikarna’s release but the Philippines refused because it had evidence against him.
Perez said some Cabinet members – who he did not identify – had suggested that Dwikarna be handed over to Jakarta to improve Philippine relations with Indonesia.
"I told them, ‘Why are we worried about good relations if this is the man who is planning to bomb us’," Perez said in an earlier interview.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople recently went to Jakarta to meet with his counterpart, Hassan Wirayuda, to discuss the possibility of a prisoner swap.
Perez said Manila was right in refusing to hand over Dwikarna because it turned out that he is a high-ranking member of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesia-based ally of al-Qaeda that operates across Southeast Asia.
"It has come out that Agus Dwikarna is one of the highest officers of Jemaah Islamiyah," he said.
Dwikarna, along with other Indonesians, Abdul Jamal Balfas and Hamsid Lin Rung, were arrested on March 13 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport when plastic explosives were found in their luggage. – Christina Mendez