GMA orders stronger fight vs terror after fall of Islamic radical leader

President Arroyo called on government forces to intensify their hunt for local and foreign terrorists as she lauded the police and military in the arrest of the suspected leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) and seven of its alleged members in Zamboanga City last Tuesday.

Flanked by her top Cabinet and military officials, Mrs. Arroyo issued the order after presenting before the media alleged RSM leader Hilarion del Rosario Santos and the other suspects, including three women, at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City yesterday.

"Terrorism is an extraordinary crime and a threat to the world and to the country. There are more battles out there to be won… I encourage you to continue fighting this war against terrorism," Mrs. Arroyo told the troops.

The military said an intensified manhunt was launched for the remaining 21 RSM leaders said to have established terror cells throughout the country. The Philippine National Police (PNP) also joined the manhunt.

PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao said police intelligence operatives have been deployed to help out in the manhunt for the remaining RSM leaders.

AFP chief Gen. Generoso Senga, on the other hand, personally presented Santos and the suspects before the President and the media.

Senga claimed Santos and his group established a close working relationship with the bandit group Abu Sayyaf, coordinating their bombing activities with the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network.

Senga added Santos is one of the masterminds of the failed bombing plot targeting the tourist haven of Malate, Manila similar to the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia.

He said Santos had planned to attack American tourists in Malate during the Lenten season in March by using a 1,000-kilogram bomb loaded in a truck.

"The area (Malate) is where Caucasian people congregate for happy times," Armed Forces deputy chief for intelligence Rear Admiral Tirso Danga added.

"These people are supposed to sow terror. That’s why the anti-terrorism task force has been saying that there are plans to bomb the critical parts of infrastructure and our territory," Danga told the news conference. He did not elaborate.

The plan was foiled following the seizure of a sizable cache of explosives at a warehouse rented by the suspect in Fairview, Quezon City.

Santos was able to evade capture but his younger brother Dawud was arrested and later posted bail.

Santos reportedly broke down and admitted before military interrogators that he was given sanctuary by rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrilla leaders in Talayan, Maguindanao sometime in June this year.

Santos is believed to have received bomb training from the Indonesian-based JI militants seeking refuge in camps controlled by rogue MILF leaders in central Mindanao.

"While in Talayan, he (Santos) joined the group of Bali bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek along (Abu Sayyaf chieftain) Khaddafy Janjalani," Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Brig. Gen. Marlu Quevedo said.

The US government has included Janjalani and Patek on its list of wanted terrorists and has offered rewards for their capture.

The Abu Sayyaf and JI have been blamed for several bomb attacks in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Patek is a key suspect in the 2002 Bali, Indonesia nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.

Janjalani and Patek have been targets of a US-backed offensive in Maguindanao that started in July.

Santos apparently left the area due to the operation and hid in Zamboanga, the military said. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Pia Lee-Brago, AP