MANILA, Philippines – Scores of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels were believed killed or wounded after they attacked an Army advance command post in North Cotabato Friday night.
At the Senate, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said there is no basis to declare martial law despite the series of bombings and violence before President Arroyo delivers her last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27.
Col. Alejandro Estomo, commander of the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade, said well-entrenched troops from the 7th Infantry Battalion and Citizens Armed Forces Geographical (CAFGU) inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking MILF forces who tried to overrun the Army outpost in Barangay Nalapaan, Pikit.
“We repulsed the attack and drove them away after almost half an hour of intense fighting,” he said.
While there was no actual body count, Estomo said troops found bloodstains on the various withdrawal routes of the rebels in yesterday’s clearing operations.
The assault came a day after the MILF rebels conducted a roadside bombing in their foiled attempt to ambush a passing military vehicle in nearby Barangays Manaulanan and Silik, both in Pikit town.
The plot, however, fizzled out after an improvised explosive fashioned from an 81-mm planted by the rebels went off minutes after the service vehicle of the 7th IB’s Alpha Company had already passed through the area.
Martial law unwarranted
Enrile said certain conditions must be present before martial law could be declared, adding there is certainty that there are people who would want to sow chaos.
“The possibilities are immense, but why would we bother ourselves with that? Why confuse our minds? As far as I’m concerned, there is no reason (to panic). I don’t think the present orders of power in the country are that ruthless and irresponsible to exercise that power when the conditions are not there,” he said.
But Sen. Francis Escudero cautioned the people not to let their guard down and easily believe Mrs. Arroyo and her allies that it would indeed be her last SONA.
Jesus Is Lord Movement spiritual leader Eddie Villanueva said it would not take a genius to surmise that the bombings in Mindanao could be related to the “evil plans” of Malacañang to stay in power through the declaration of military rule.
Enrile said authorities must speed up action to solve the bombings in Mindanao although it would not be easy, as he earlier noted that the present political situation and scenarios like “no-elections” in 2010, destabilization and plans for a transition government could worsen the country’s condition.
He said there were a lot of factors and groups to consider such as those who got vested interests and operating in Mindanao like the MILF, the Abu Sayyaf, the Jemaah Islamiyah and other Islamic militants.
The Senate president said a proposal to register all cellular phones in the country must also be entertained since such a device was used to detonate a bomb in Cotabato.
Escudero, on the other hand, said Filipinos must remain on guard because they could not be certain that the Arroyo administration has no more plans for a constituent assembly to change the Constitution and extend the term of the President and other elective officials.
“She had promised before that she would not run. We should not be swayed by flowery words,” he said.
Bomb scare in Cotabato
Meanwhile, fear of another round of bombings mounted in Cotabato City following the discovery of what looked like an improvised bomb at the passenger terminal of the Weena Bus Lines yesterday.
Tension, however, subsided when combined military and police ordnance experts were able to ascertain that the 81-mm mortar cartridge “planted” by yet unidentified suspect was not an improvised explosive.
Initially, the suspected bomb was discovered at around 9 a.m. yesterday by Eduardo Soledad, manager of Weena Bus Lines, at the Cotabato City terminal, placed in the drawer of a steel cabinet in his office.
Military and police bomb ordnance experts responding to the situation cordoned the place.
Upon examination, the suspected bomb turned out to be only an empty 81-mm cartridge with complete serial and lot numbers.
Authorities were still trying to determine who left the 81-mm cartridge in Soledad’s office.
Last Sunday, a powerful blast rocked the city when an improvised explosive fashioned from an 81-mm shell exploded just outside the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, killing six civilians.
To protest the carnage, business ground to a halt as local traders closed shop to join townsfolk during an “indignation holiday” Friday.
Hundreds of people wearing red shirts showed up in the streets to dramatize their sympathy for the six people killed in the bombing, which they described as the worst in recent years.
Oscar Tan Abing, a senior official of Cotabato City’s association of grocery store owners, said they decided to close shop for a day to show their sympathy for the victims.
Medical professionals led by Dr. Ramon Rabago, of the local chapter of the Philippine Medical Association, said they observed a “sympathy day off,” but stressed emergency rooms and hospitals remained open.
“It’s the duty of doctors working in ERs to attend to emergencies so they must be there while we, operating private clinics, are mourning the plight of the victims in last Sunday’s bombing,” Rabago said.
Muslim religious leaders also showed their support in their khutab (sermon) in mosques during their traditional Friday prayers.
“Whoever perpetrated that bombing must have been inspired by Satan,” said Ustadz Faried Solaiman Adas. – With Aurea Calica