‘Bato’: Stop blaming police, military for ‘failure of intel’

The explosion in Davao City on Friday night that killed 14 civilians and injured 70 others happened at the time President Rodrigo Duterte was in his home province. Was there a failure of intelligence?

Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said the police’s and the military’s intelligence units could not prevent bombings at all times, explaining that even the United States, which he said has the “best intelligence agency in the world,” failed to thwart terror attacks in their country.

“Kapag may nalusutan tayo na sumabog, automatic intelligence has to be blamed. But then again ‘yun ngang pinaka-matindi na intelligence agency sa buong mundo, ‘yung CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) ng America, well-funded and everything, pero nalulusutan sila. How much more ‘yung intelligence group ng PNP and intelligence service ng AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)?” dela Rosa said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Saturday.

(If we fail to act on a bombing, it’s automatic that intelligence has to be blamed. But then again, even the best intelligence agency in the world—the CIA—of the United States, it’s well funded and everything, but it still misses sometimes. How much more for the intelligence group of the PNP and the intelligence service of the AFP?)

“Malaki rin ang tsansa na tayo ay malusutan (There’s also a good chance we miss out),” dela Rosa added.

But the police chief, who flew to Davao City after the media briefing, said now is not the right time to blame anyone for allowing the bloody explosion to happen.

“This is not the right time for us to do fingerpointing kung kaninong failure ‘yon (on whose failure that is). It’s not the right time for us to point fingers,” he said.

Dela Rosa said the PNP will not take at face value the reported admission of the terror Abu Sayyaf Group of masterminding the incident along the crowded night market on Roxas Avenue in Davao City.

“There are many theories but unless we find hard evidence to confirm or to validate such theory, lalo na merong umamin sa Zamboanga na sila may kagagawan. But then we do not take that at face value. Kino-confim pa namin kung talagang sila. Mayroon tayong many ways to validate it,” he said.

READ: Abu Sayyaf disowns Davao explosion, says ally was behind attack

But the Abu Sayyaf denied to Inquirer that it was behind the explosion, adding that the group’s ally Daulat Ul Islamiya was perpetrated the blast.

“They are doing this to sympathize (with) our group and we are sending a message to President Rodrigo Duterte that all the Daulat throughout the country is not afraid of him,” Muammar Askali alias Abu Ramie, the self-styled spokesperson of the Al Harakatul Al Islamiya, the Abu Sayyaf’s official name.

READ: Vice Mayor Duterte got info on bomb threat 2 days ago

In an interview at the blast site early Saturday, Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte said he received information of a bomb threat two days ago.

“Ang sabi do not pass this around so tumahimik na lang ako (It said don’t pass this around so I kept quiet),” he said.

He said the threat indicated that the attack would either happen in General Santos City or in Davao. IDL