Palace denies JI operatives now in Metro

Malacañang denied yesterday reports that terrorists from the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) are now in Metro Manila to unleash a wave of bombings to sow fear among the public.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police know where the JI terrorists are hiding, and that they are not in Metro Manila.

"JI members are known to our authorities and they are under surveillance, but we cannot disclose their exact location at this time," he said.

Meanwhile, Bunye rejected allegations that the government has paid money to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for information about Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani.

"The MILF has renounced terrorism and under an agreement with the government, they are obliged to turn over to the government any terrorist who would go to their place," he said.

However, Bunye said any MILF member who could give information that would lead to Janjalani’s capture will receive a reward.

Earlier, a military official said JI terrorists have been spotted in Metro Manila.

President Arroyo said the JI has replaced rebels and separatists as the primary threat to the country’s security.

"We are elevating the JI into our official national threat spectrum," she said in a statement.

"We are going into a more focused campaign against the JI, complete with a new order of battle and targets for domestic and transnational intelligence in concert with our allies."

Security officials said some 40 other JI militants, most of whom are believed to be Indonesian, are on the loose in Mindanao, where a massive manhunt has been launched.

Indonesian Taufek Refke, 23, who is allegedly the JI’s No. 2 man in Mindanao, was arrested in Cotabato City last Oct. 2.

Police said Refke has confessed under interrogation of being the JI’s "finance and liaison officer" responsible for funding deadly bombings in Mindanao.

His arrest led government forces to an alleged JI hideout in Cotabato City, where they recovered bomb-making equipment and radical Islamic literature.

Some of Refke’s estimated 30 accomplices, most of them said to be Indonesians, escaped when troops raided a suspected JI safehouse in Cotabato City earlier.

However, Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong said the police and military have yet to file charges of illegal possession of explosives against Refke.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina said the only case that can be lodged against Refke is his alleged violation of immigration laws.

The JI espouses the establishment of a radical Pan-Islamic enclave across Southeast Asia that would cover Mindanao, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.