Bum steer

So the "credible and specific" threat that led to the shutdown of two embassies in Manila was culled from information supplied by the intelligence chief of the Western Police District. At least that’s what top police officials said yesterday.

If it’s true, it won’t be the first time that a cop stirred up that kind of trouble. In the 1980s a police officer moonlighting as a visa hustler tried to ingratiate himself with the Americans by sending word to the US embassy that the Moro National Liberation Front was planning to assassinate the US ambassador. The Philippine government had to scramble to reassure the embassy that there was no such threat. Several police officers received a dressing down. The story was kept under wraps.

This time the government has identified Senior Superintendent George Gaddi, who was sacked yesterday as intelligence chief of the WPD, as the source of information that led to the shutdown of the embassies of Australia and Canada last Nov. 28. Gaddi’s information was reportedly not processed through intelligence channels of the Philippine National Police.

I guess embassies can consider the intelligence chief of the Manila police a credible source of information on terrorist threats from local Islamist groups. And I guess embassies don’t know that before raw information can be classified as intelligence info, it has to undergo analysis and verification. Gaddi’s information did not go through this process even in his own office.

If embassies are to shut down because of a reported terrorist threat, the move should at least be based on A-1 intelligence information, considering the adverse impact on the host country. Since last summer, tourism in the Philippines, which was devastated by the Sept. 11 attacks last year and the Abu Sayyaf raids, had started picking up. Yuletide is also traditionally a peak season for tourism here. But the bombings in Bali, Indonesia ruined that, and the shutdown of the embassies was an additional blow. If Gaddi was truly the cause of the shutdown of the two embassies (plus the office of the European Commission), then it was based on F-6 information – meaning, the reliability of the info cannot be ascertained. In short, a bum steer. Or, in Pinoy slang, kuryente.

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Now where would Gaddi get that kind of information? Perhaps he read newspaper reports about US diplomatic missions on alert worldwide for possible terrorist attacks through the New Year. Perhaps after the bombings in Bali, he picked up some fuzzy report about Australia on TV news and decided to pass it on to the embassy folks here. Gaddi reportedly likes to socialize, although yesterday he was nowhere to be found and even his file photo was unavailable either at the WPD headquarters or Camp Crame. Australia we can understand, after Bali. But why Canada?

The threat, supposedly coming from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf, was reportedly relayed to Gaddi by an asset. Must’ve been "Ahmed", the fictional Muslim vendor in Quiapo who is the subject of some of the most hilarious but politically incorrect jokes among top intelligence officers.

What other types of raw information are floating around in diplomatic circles? Before other embassies decide to act as precipitously as those of Australia and Canada, perhaps they should be reminded that they have to consult with the Department of Foreign Affairs even on matters of security. Or at least the embassy security officers should get in touch with higher defense, military or police officials – there are more than enough in the Philippines – and ask them about purported security threats.

May I also remind diplomats that there are many characters in this country who will do some bizarre things to get into the good graces of certain diplomatic missions.

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This is not to say that diplomats in Manila are safe. The terrorist threat is real, and it’s the job of our law enforcement and security agencies to protect not just diplomats but also Filipinos from al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, the MILF and Abu Sayyaf.

Our security officers must consider the terrorists’ weapons of choice. With security forces worldwide on alert for a repeat of the Sept. 11 attacks last year, the terrorists are focusing on "soft" targets, which can be easily hit by car bombs and shoulder-fired missiles.

At least we still don’t have to worry about the deadliest weapon – the suicide bomber. Or smallpox virus unleashed by Saddam Hussein. Or scud missiles launched by that loony with bad hair in North Korea. (Now Yemen has scuds, courtesy of Pyongyang. What did US President George W. Bush do about it? He railed against the "axis of evil" again but allowed Yemen to keep the missiles. Pardon us if we’re confused.)

When diplomats in Manila aren’t being targeted by terrorists, they’re being preyed upon by con men and robbers armed with Ativan.

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Yesterday top police officials met with several ambassadors to discuss the security threat. From what we gathered about the meeting, the ambassadors of Australia and Canada still refused to disclose the source of the "credible and specific" threat. How can you protect these people? Do they think the secretary of the interior and the chief of the Philippine National Police will order an attack on their embassies?

Anyway, the diplomats and police officers reportedly agreed on a process by which information on alleged security threats to diplomatic missions can be assessed for proper action. Let’s see if the process will be followed.

Earlier, the ambassadors of Australia and Canada reportedly promised, in a meeting with DFA officials, that they would reopen their embassies "very soon" when they find new, secure sites. Maybe they should take a cue from the embassy of Israel. A report said terrorists passed up on hitting the embassy because there were so few Israelis working there it wasn’t worth the effort. I heard that the embassy has only five Israelis – the ambassador, the press attaché and my guess is three security officers working on different shifts.

Meanwhile, poor George Gaddi has lost his command, which is as it should be. Some of his colleagues reportedly said that he is a good officer. If he really is the source of that raw information, I’m sorry to say that he’s one lousy intelligence officer. But he shouldn’t fret too much. He can still apply for a job in military intelligence.