MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo called a command conference at Malacañang yesterday attended by Armed Forces and Philippine National Police (PNP) officials and Cabinet members who comprise the security cluster in an effort to stop the bombings in Mindanao.
“The purpose of this command conference is to do swift action to help the victims and their families in the Mindanao bombings, and strategize and plan to contain the seemingly planned pre-SONA noises,” Mrs. Arroyo said.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the PNP went on full alert all over the country though a spillover of the violence in Metro Manila is unlikely.
While there is still no hard evidence of the involvement of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), there is increasing information that elements of the rebel group, who received bomb-making training from the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, planted the improvised explosive devices (IED), officials said.
PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said investigators are looking into various motives behind the blasts.
They include attempts to divert the attention of the military and police undertaking various operations in the area; extortion; retaliation for the transfer of bombing suspects from Mindanao to Manila; “test mission” for “new graduates” of IED-making in Maguindanao; and a show of force by the MILF prior to the expected resumption of formal talks.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Victor Ibrado said the MILF Special Operations Group conducted three bomb-making trainings in Maguindanao.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the bombings appear to be orchestrated.
But he clarified that the violence in Mindanao is different from the situation in Metro Manila, where a bomb exploded last week and several other explosive devices were found.
Gonzales and Teodoro, however, admitted that hard evidence would still have to be gathered to pin down the MILF suspects.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who heads the Anti-Terrorism Council, dismissed the MILF’s allegations that the government was behind the blasts, saying they were meant to divert attention from the rebels as suspects.
CBCP condemns bombing
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), led by its president Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, condemned the bomb attacks near two cathedrals in separate provinces in Mindanao.
Lagdameo called for sobriety even as he joined the Pope “in condemning recourse to violence in solving existing problems.”
“We appeal to the perpetuators to desist from their violence and to bring their concerns to the proper forum,” he said.
Eight people died and around 70 others were injured when the two improvised explosives went off near the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City last Sunday and at the Mount Carmel Church in Jolo, Sulu yesterday morning.
An eye for an eye
But Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said that Christian armed groups might be planning to counter with violence the series of attacks in Mindanao.
In a weekly forum organized by the Catholic Church, Bagaforo noted there were groups that have already sent “feelers” to counteract the attacks perpetrated by Muslim rebels.
The prelate maintained that they have no “inside knowledge” about the plans or which groups are actually behind it.
Bagaforo said he suspects that the attacks were either connected with the ongoing war between the military and the MILF or with “some terrorism act being done by groups other than the separatist group or it could be some election-related issue.”
Priests in Mindanao have already been advised to exercise caution when traveling amid the heightening tension there.
Bagaforo appealed to those behind the attacks to spare civilians.
“Let’s spare our civilians. Don’t involve them in this, do not make them part of collateral damage. It is an ‘act of brutality’ to involve innocent civilians in the ongoing conflict between the military and the Muslim rebels,” he said.
Senators: Resume peace talks
Senators also condemned the spate of bombings and warned that the country was in more danger now given the current political situation and allegations of destabilization, plans for emergency rule and to cancel the 2010 elections.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Richard Gordon and Loren Legarda also called for the immediate resumption of peace talks in Mindanao.
The three, along with Sen. Francis Pangilinan, also asked authorities to speed up the resolution of these incidents and stop the blame game or mere denials that the government did not have anything to do with the bombings.
“The challenge to get to the bottom of these incidents is even greater today given the current political situation. Already, there are speculations that these bombings are state-sponsored to pave the way for a ‘No-Elections’ scenario. The police should crack these cases open to dispel these dangerous speculations as soon as possible,” Enrile stressed, adding that this is the best time to reactivate the stalled peace process.
Legarda said that government must not wait for more people to get killed or injured before acting.
“The attacks must cease, no matter what the motivations may be behind them,” she said.
Gordon urged the military to step up surveillance and intelligence operations to stop the spate of bombings, which he said was merely prolonging the conflict in Mindanao.
“I urge the perpetrators of these bombings to stop such terrorist attacks on civilians. Innocent children were killed in Sunday’s bombing. Just imagine they could be your own children. Why don’t you just go back to the negotiating table,” he said.
Legarda urged the government and MILF to put an end to the Mindanao conflict by going back to the negotiating table so the thousands of displaced people could return to their homes and live a normal life.
The number of those displaced in Mindanao as a result of the war has reportedly exceeded half a million.
An independent humanitarian organization, the Norwegian Refugee Council, considered this displacement due to war as the largest ever since last year.
“What’s alarming is that these refugees have to deal not only with the bullets and mortars, but also hunger and disease,” she said.
A total of 52 journalists tried to look at the situation of the refugees at Guindolongan, Maguindanao last Sunday, but were prevented by the authorities.
Pangilinan warned Palace officials against issuing intelligence reports and accusing groups as masterminds behind the recent string of bombings in the country without hard evidence.
He said officials must be prudent in releasing statements to the press lest they be accused of rushing results just to save face. – With reports from Mike Frialde, Sheila Crisostomo, Dennis Carcamo, Aurea Calica, Evelyn Macairan, John Unson