PNP Directorate for Intelligence chief Director Robert Delfin said the presentation was reset for today to adjust to the schedule of President Arroyo, who celebrated her 57th birthday in Lubao, Pampanga yesterday.
Alhamser Manatad Limbong, alias Kosovo; Redendo Cain Dellosa, alias Habil Akmad Dellosa; Abudrasid Banjeng Lim, alias Abu Haifa; Radzmar Sangkula Jul, alias Michael Saavedra; Walter Villanueva, alias Abduljamin, and Marvin Rueca, alias Jamil, were arrested by PNP personnel in simultaneous operations in Makati City and Quezon City last week.
Despite protests from the Muslim community that the PNP may have arrested "fall guys," Delfin said the operations conducted by the PNP’s Intelligence Group and Task Force Sanglahi were legitimate.
He added that the PNP will not be cowed by the pressure mounted by Muslim groups to stop the operations against suspected terrorists entering the country posing as Islamic missionaries.
Other PNP officials, who requested anonymity, noted that some members of the Muslim community may have unwittingly allowed themselves to be used for illegal operations, particularly terrorist activities.
The PNP officials’ observations bolstered claims made earlier by Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, who said Christians who had converted to Islam were the vanguards of a wave of terrorism to be unleashed in certain parts of the country, targeting mass transportation facilities, shopping centers and vital government installations.
Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, also pointed out the possibility that terrorists can pose as missionaries, infiltrate Muslim communities, and incite them to join terrorist activities.