Government agents raid houses of terror group

President Aquino was on government radio and television on Sunday to warn devotees of the Black Nazarene to be vigilant because terrorists may take advantage of the huge crowd in Manila to sow terror. President Aquino was on government radio and television on Sunday to warn devotees of the Black Nazarene to be vigilant because terrorists may take advantage of the huge crowd in Manila to sow terror. Photo by Marcelino Pascua/Malacanang Photo Bureau/PCOO

A raid on three houses over the weekend that failed to capture a small group from Mindanao believed to be planning to bomb the Black Nazarene procession in Manila was what prompted President Benigno Aquino III to raise a terror alert on the eve of the annual religious march.

“There is a threat and the President deemed it necessary to handle it himself to make sure all preparations are in place. It is better to be prepared than sorry,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Monday.

Two of the alleged safe houses were in Metro Manila, one was in the Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila, while another was in Rizal province, Gazmin said after he convened a meeting on Monday morning to go over the security and crowd-assistance plans for the daylong procession.

“There was no trace (of the suspects). We’re still continuing the operation,” he said.

Mr. Aquino was on government radio and television on Sunday to warn devotees of the Black Nazarene to be vigilant because terrorists may take advantage of the huge crowd in Manila to sow terror.

He said that the group may resort to bombing attacks but assured the public that the government was prepared to protect the devotees.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said at the press conference that the authorities were monitoring the movements of six to nine people identified with a terror group in Mindanao.

National Security Adviser Cesar Garcia said members of the group were suspected to be “bomb experts,” who had undertaken bombing activities in Mindanao.

Shut down

“They also had a history of detonating improvised explosive devices through cell phones,” Garcia said in a phone interview, explaining why the Palace had asked telecommunication firms to shut off their cell phone signals along the route of the procession.

Garcia said the group, which he said could not be linked directly to the regional terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah, had been spotted in Metro Manila “before Christmas.”

“The suspicion is that they are still here,” he said. “We can’t take things for granted.”

Malacañang’s warning of a terror threat may not have been unfounded after all.

The Philippine Coast Guard said a “huge” package of explosives was confiscated on a bus traveling from Pasay City on Sunday.

C4, blasting caps

About 5.5 kilograms of C4, eight boxes of blasting caps, three rolls of cord and 6.75 kg of prime booster were found on Elavil Bus with Plate No. TYU 264. The bus was on the MV King Frederick roll-on, roll-off from Albay province.

The Department of Transportation and Communications said the bus had come from Pasay and was en route to Masbate province. The bus was intercepted by a joint security force, aided by K-9 dog bomb sniffers, of the Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police.

From Marawi

Gazmin said the authorities had not determined to which group the would-be terrorists belong, but denied that they had a foreign link. He said the would-be terrorists came from Mindanao and one of them came from Marawi City.

“It could be Abu Sayyaf. It could be MILF SOG (Moro Islamic Liberation Front Special Operations Group). We cannot be conclusive at this point,” he said.

Von Al-Haq, MILF military spokesperson, said his group “vehemently denied” Gazmin’s insinuations.

Since August

PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome said his men had  monitored the presence in Metro Manila of six to nine suspected terrorists since August last year, but the police were not alerted until the Black Nazarene procession came up.

Bartolome said the PNP would rather not take chances since the procession, which draws millions of devotees, could be a probable terrorist target.

The PNP chief said the President was concerned about the safety of everyone after he was briefed about the threat. “The President is very particular that the celebration should be peaceful. His aim is to protect our people,” he added.

Full alert

Bartolome said the PNP deployed more personnel than the 4,000 tapped last year for the procession as he placed the entire 15,000-strong National Capital Region Police Office on full alert.

The PNP also beefed up its explosive and ordnance teams, and augmented its K-9 units with the K-9 units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Coast Guard.

The AFP National Capital Region Command was also placed on the highest red alert.

Robredo said the decision to turn off the cell phone signals along the procession route in Manila was prompted by the possibility that a bomb attack would be triggered by a cell phone.

Intel community

He said this was a request of the intelligence community of the PNP and the AFP.

“We had been briefed by the government regarding the security situation with respect to the Black Nazarene procession,” mobile network leader Smart Communications Inc. said.

“Based on that briefing, we are fully cooperating with government in order to address the situation and have agreed to take certain precautionary measures to enhance public safety in and around the procession areas,” it added.

Digitel Telecommunications Philippines, operator of Sun Cellular, issued a similar advisory, saying it would implement “precautionary measures to ensure public safety.”

Each tower covers 2.5 to 5 kilometers so other areas that may not be along the procession route were also likely affected, according to Smart.

“This is an extraordinary situation … when the President makes an announcement like that, we have to act on it,” said Smart spokesperson Ramon Isberto.

National security

In a separate advisory, Ayala-led Globe Telecom said it had complied with the government’s request in the interest of “national security.”

“Please be informed that mobile subscribers of all telcos in select areas of Manila will experience temporary loss of signal due to security measures being conducted by the government,” Globe said in a text message.

The company said several of its cell sites in Quiapo, Ongpin/Binondo, Carriedo, portions of Divisoria, Lawton and other areas along the path of the procession were shut off between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Globe spokesperson Yoly Crisanto said all mobile phone operators were required by their respective franchises to shut off their services in certain areas if ordered by the government when there are threats to national security.

“That provision is in our CPCN (certificate of public convenience and necessity),” Crisanto said. “But this is the first time we have done this for an area this big, for this long and for a reason like this,” she added.

Overkill

The suspension of phone service drew criticism from consumers, who called the move “reckless and an overkill.”

“Keeping all public communication outlets, especially cell phone services, open is the public’s and the government’s sounding board against any alleged terror threats,” said Antonio Cruz, head of consumer group TxtPower.

He said open cell phone lines would enable citizens to respond to the government’s call for reports of suspicious persons and groups.

“It is also vital to media, whose profession relies heavily on cell phone services, to report to the public and to both private and public security personnel,” he said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines also chided Malacañang for the measure. “Cutting cellular communication lines is actually a counterproductive measure as it would prevent people from rapidly transmitting information had there been an actual threat,” it said.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Valte defended the move taken by the government.

“We feel that it was warranted as an additional security measure and is necessary for us to ensure that nothing untoward will happen during the period of the procession and the celebration,” Valte said. With reports from Delfin Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon; and Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao