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Cops link ASG to bombing, kill 3 ‘Abus’

PNP pushes Akbar slay slant, junks terrorist angle

11/16/2007

President Arroyo and her Philippine National Police (PNP) are bent on passing off the Batasan bombing, which claimed the lives of Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar and three others while injuring some 13 persons, as an assassination plot against the congressman, with the bomb blast not having anything to do with terrorism.

The PNP and the military pressed on with the slay plot angle as they linked to the blast the three suspects killed and three arrested yesterday with the police raid of an Islamic militant hideout near the Batasan Complex.

Philippine Army spokesman Maj. Ernesto Torres said without elaborating, “There are indications they have something to do with the blast.”

Military and police swooped down on the Quezon City shantytown of Payatas near the House of Representatives to arrest suspected kidnappers and were met with gunfire, Torres said.

Three Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) suspects were killed and three others were arrested while one police officer from the Special Action Force (SAF) was wounded, he told reporters.

The raid was launched two days after an explosion killed a legislator and three persons at the House of Representatives.

This was, however, contradicted by the PNP, as its chief, Director General Avelino Razon, however, said the arrest warrant was for an unrelated kidnapping.

The Army spokesman disclosed that the shootout between alleged ASG members and joint operatives of the PNP-SAF and agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) happened at around 4:30 p.m., at Violago Homes in Payatas Quezon City, which is a few meters away from the Batasan complex.

Reports from the office of SAF chief, Chief Supt. Leocadio Santiago Jr., confirmed the death of three ASG bandits and wounding one SAF personnel.

The police are now determining if the ASG members were involved in the explosion that occurred at the south wing of the House of Representatives building on Wednesday night.

According to Supt. Rodel Sermonia, the group could possibly be behind the Batasan bombing as the joint operatives were able to seize from the suspects’ possession chemicals in manufacturing improvised explosive device (IED).

The PNP theorized that the ASG group targeted Akbar since he was a former member of the group but turned against them and ran for a government office to serve his constituents.

Earlier Thursday, Razon said the “sophisticated” bomb used in the House blast was intended for a pre-selected target: Akbar.

Preliminary police findings indicate the bomber was experienced and bolstered the police theory that the explosion was aimed specifically for the Muslim congressman, who was killed in the blast, said Razon.

“The one who made this bomb was pretty experienced. It is sophisticated,” he said, citing the way the bomb went off to create a 180-degree blast arc to hit Akbar as he was departing the Congress building.

Manila police chief Geary Barias said police scientists had determined that the explosive in the bomb was trinitrotoluene or TNT, adding that this means “it could have been dynamite sticks” in the bomb.

He told reporters they also found signs of a detonating cord at the blast site, adding that this had prompted police to order a review of the system for monitoring the sale of TNT and detonating cords.

The explosion late Tuesday ripped through a wing of the House after most congressmen had left. The explosion killed Akbar, two aides and a driver.

Police have recovered a mobile telephone that was apparently used to set off the bomb and nails used as shrapnel. It is believed that the bomb was hidden in a parked motorcycle.

Razon said he doubted the bomb was a terrorist attack aimed a general destruction, saying the bomber could have set it off in a place that would have killed more congressmen.

Police believe the bomb was intended for Akbar, who represents the southern island of Basilan, a haunt of armed groups like the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf (ASG) and political warlords.

The ASG has been linked by intelligence agencies to the al-Qaeda terror network and has carried out bombing attacks in the past.

Akbar was a former Abu Sayyaf member who turned against them.

Aside from the ASG, the other suspects in the blast are political enemies of Akbar.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual said the last time he saw a similar bomb, hidden in a motorcycle and set off with a mobile phone, was in 2004. That bomb was the work of the Abu Sayyaf.

He said this was not confirmation however the militant group was behind the latest attack.

The Philippine government has offered a P5-million reward for information leading to the arrest of the bomber.

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said he was also setting up a task force to look into improving the security in the House.

The PNP yesterday also assured the diplomatic community that everything is fine, in reference to Tuesday night’s blast at the House of Representatives.

In an interview at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Barias said that he informed the diplomatic community that the country remains stable despite the blast as he reiterated that based on their initial findings it was aimed at one target and was not a terrorist attack.

The meeting between the NCRPO and the diplomatic community was done behind closed doors at the DFA as media were barred from entering.

After the briefing, Foreign Affairs spokesman Claro Cristobal told reporters what they did was nothing unusual as it is part of the “standard” gathering and did not mean that there was cause for foreign governments to be alarmed.

Barias in a separate interview, said that he simply assured the foreign officials that there was nothing to fear in the aftermath of the Batasan blast, adding that he police investigation thus far showed that the terror angle was becoming less likely.

He added in Filipino that, “This is physical evidence that we gathered from the blast site which could give us clues or the story behind the motives of that blast.”

Barias’s statement comes amid a warning from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that it was still “premature” to conclude that Akbar was the lone target.

Romulo Asis, chief of the NBI Anti-Terrorism Division, earlier said the device used in the blast appeared to be of the antivehicle type.

He said it could have been a “coincidence” that Akbar was there at the Batasan south wing when the incident occurred.

“I think it was highly informative and useful and we got reassured that we should not be concerned about the security situation,” said Herbert Jager, Austria ambassador to Manila.

For his part, Colin Wynn Crorkin, deputy head of mission for the British Embassy, said that, “I think they (PNP probers) are perfectly capable of investigating the matter themselves ... we’ll get further updates from the PNP and we’ll await any other further statement.”

The President on Wednesday made a public appeal not to speculate about the explosion, saying this could lead to baseless accusations and cast fears on the business community.

At the same time, the President ordered tighter security for senators and congressmen who face death threats while ordering the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) to identify them as soon as possible.

In her speech Wednesday night at the Top Level Management Conference of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) in Clark, Pampanga , Mrs. Arroyo also urged the media to do the same for their protection .

“I have instructed also the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office to identify and secure possible assassin targets in Congress. And I think KBP should do the same for the media. You must figure out who are possible targets for media killings so that media can take care of them. And just as we are determined to solve last night’s killings, I want to tell you that we continue to be resolved to solve the killings of journalists,” she said.

She also instructed Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Rolando Andaya to boost the government’s intelligence spending for operations.

The chief executive also ordered Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno to permanently assign bomb-sniffing dogs in both House of Congress so the Batasan tragedy would not be repeated. With Gina Peralta-Elorde, Jojo Arazas, Sherwin C. Olaes and AFP