EDITORIAL - Terrorist target

We may think our officials are just jumping on the anti-terrorism bandwagon by trotting out every Arab, Pakistani and Central Asian visiting the Philippines as a suspected cohort of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. This has already cost us the goodwill of several governments in the Middle East, which have decided to limit the number of foreigners working in the Gulf states. Five of the biggest employers of Filipino overseas workers – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain – agreed to implement the policy in sympathy with Oman, which protested the presentation of three of its citizens as terrorists in the Philippines. The three were apprehended for taking video footage of the US Embassy in Manila last month. Despite an apology from the Philippine government, Oman has banned the hiring and even entry of Filipinos.

That was an expensive lesson in circumspection. But it should not be a reason to let down our guard. The threat from Islamists is real, and their network has a global reach. In recent weeks Malaysia and Singapore have rounded up dozens of men suspected to be setting up a terrorist group in Southeast Asia linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network. Two weeks ago an Indonesian was arrested in Quiapo. Investigation conducted by Philippine and Indonesian police indicated that the suspect, Fathur Rahman Al-Gozi, is a key officer of the new terrorist group called Jeemah Islamiya.

Even more troubling was a report over the weekend from Singapore, where a Muslim cleric being investigated for his involvement in terrorism called for jihad or holy war in the southern Philippines. Yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said security was being tightened in Philippine embassies in the Middle East and Southeast Asia because of the potential for Islamist terrorist attacks.

The presence of US troops in our country, which is being pictured as a new front in the war on international terrorism, won’t go unnoticed by Islamists. Some sectors may dismiss it as paranoia, but it will do no harm if extra precautions are taken by Philippine authorities to protect possible targets of terrorists.