AFP, PNP ON ALERT AMID JAKARTA BLAST
MANILA, September 10 , 2004 (STAR) The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) went on full alert yesterday following a deadly bombing in Indonesia and amid fears of terrorism linked to the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, officials said. President Arroyo condemned the Jakarta bombing and said nothing was "sufficient to justify this attack against innocent civilians," her spokesman Ignacio Bunye said. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said the bombing was a "despicable act against humanity and freedom."
"I condemn the perpetrators of this terrorist act. The Philippine government and people are one with the Indonesian government and people in mourning the victims of this recent bombing and in their effort to combat terrorism," he said. Romulo added that Filipinos "also express their sadness and concern for the injuries and damage caused to the Australian embassy, which bore the brunt of the explosion."
Based on a report from Ambassador to Indonesia Shulan Primavera, a powerful car bomb exploded in front of the Australian embassy in Kuningan, central Jakarta at around 10:30 a.m. yesterday. The explosion was heard from the Philippine embassy, which is 10 minutes’ drive from the Australian embassy building. The area where the bomb had been placed is where several embassies, including that of Malaysia and Russia, are located. Some diplomats, including several members of the Philippine embassy, also live in the area.
No Filipino was reported involved in the incident, but Romulo said Primavera is monitoring the situation.
"This incident will only strengthen the Philippines’ commitment and determination to fight all forms of terrorism," Romulo said.
Red alert up
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero was announcing security measures for the Sept. 11 anniversary when news spread of the blast near the Australian embassy in Jakarta. The explosion, which officials suspect may have been the handiwork of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), killed eight people and wounded more than 160. "The military is prepared to deter similar attacks nationwide," Lucero said. The entire 120,000-strong military was on red alert, the highest of a three-level system, Lucero said.
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, who concurrently heads the national Anti-Terrorism Task Force, said raising the alert level and deploying battle-tested Marines to secure vital infrastructures activated the government’s anti-terror mechanism to thwart plots to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York City and Washington. Cruz has also directed AFP chief Gen. Narciso Abaya to order all military commanders and units in urban areas to be on high alert. He said Marines have been dispatched to augment security forces at foreign embassies and missions in the country. A Marine company has also been placed under the control of the National Capital Region Command for deployment in Metro Manila as the need arises.
Navy chief Vice Adm. Ernesto de Leon specifically instructed the Marines guarding the US Embassy along Roxas Boulevard in Manila and other foreign embassies to increase their security measures to prevent an attack similar to the Jakarta bombing. "Naval intelligence networks have been established and strengthened across the country to support the national campaign against terrorism, both foreign and domestic," he said.
Newly installed National Security Adviser Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., a former PNP chief, was designated to coordinate the overall tactical movements of anti-terror troops nationwide. The red alert status covered only Metro Manila initially, but the Jakarta bombing prompted officials to raise the alert level nationwide. A senior intelligence official recently admitted that a good number of terrorist cell members under surveillance in Metro Manila and Mindanao have all disappeared, triggering speculations that they are drawing up future terrorist plots. Lucero said the military has not identified any specific threats, but that plainclothes intelligence officers and soldiers would guard potential targets, including embassies, shopping malls, hotels and government offices.
Manila’s 114,000-strong police force was also on red alert. PNP chief Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay said extra policemen had been posted at the Australian and US embassies in Manila minutes after the blast in Jakarta. Outside a building housing the Australian embassy in Makati City, members of the elite Special Action Force with bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors were being used to check incoming vehicles.
Last year, the Australian embassy was forced to shut down temporarily and later moved to a more secure site after receiving what it said were credible reports of threats. Aglipay ordered Metro Manila police chief Director Avelino Razon to "review and conduct a security assessment" of all key installations in Metro Manila, particularly in the premises of foreign embassies and residences of diplomats and dignitaries. The PNP is also coordinating with the AFP to ensure the safety of Filipinos working in Indonesia, especially those who are employed at the Philippine embassy in Jakarta, Aglipay said. He has ordered all regional police directors to "redouble their efforts in target-hardening and enhance our intelligence-gathering" to avoid similar attacks in the Philippines.
The PNP’s Directorate for Intelligence, led by Director Robert Delfin, has under its auspices the Intelligence Group and the anti-terrorism Task Force Sanglahi and has made significant inroads in its campaign against terrorism, particularly against the al-Qaeda-linked JI network. Crisis management teams in the regions and provinces were also placed on alert, even as Aglipay expressed confidence the situation was under control. The Philippines has been battling a slew of armed groups, including Marxist and Muslim separatist rebels and the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremist group, and is considered a likely terror target in Southeast Asia.
Western governments periodically warn their citizens to refrain from traveling in certain areas, especially in the country’s volatile South, where Muslim guerrillas are active. US officials have also expressed alarm over the reported presence of the JI in the southern Philippines, and have deployed troops to help train and arm Filipino soldiers battling the Abu Sayyaf and other insurgents.
Philippine intelligence agencies have long suspected an active link between Indonesian-based JI militants and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main Muslim separatist group. But the MILF has denied any connection and has pledged to help the government hunt down terrorists to foster peace talks. — Marvin Sy, Jaime Laude, Christina Mendez, AFP
More security for embassies in Manila, no "specific threat" of attack (STAR) 09/10 3:54:55 PM
MANILA (AFP) - Additional security forces have been dispatched to several diplomatic missions in Manila following Thursday's bombing of Australia's embassy in Jakarta, but defense officials said there was no "specific threat" of an immediate terror attack in the Philippines.
"There is no specific threat but it's better to be on heightened alert, especially with this incident, the bombing in Jakarta," Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said Friday. Marine guards have bolstered security at the US, Japanese and Australian embassies in Manila, while a tight watch has been placed over airports and harbours, which Cruz said was a favorite target of terrorists. He said police and local government officials have also been put on alert for incidents marking the third anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks in the United States
The Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group, Al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian arm, has claimed responsibility for Thursday's bombing that left at least nine dead and scores wounded. JI was also blamed for a car bomb outside the residence of the Philippine envoy to Jakarta, Leonides Caday, in August 2000, which severely wounded him and his driver.
President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman said Friday the latest bombing in Jakarta underscored the need for more intelligence and information sharing in the region. "We may have continued to score big against terrorists, but the attack at the Australian embassy in Indonesia's capital clearly indicates that the challenge is indeed far from over," spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
"There is a need to strengthen intelligence and information sharing across our regional neighborhood, and we will continue to pursue our efforts with a high level of vigilance and collective security," he said. Cruz said JI-linked militants in the southern island of Mindanao remain a huge threat to security, and the military was continuing operations against them. Military intelligence officials said earlier some 40 Indonesian JI militants were in training camps of the local Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is waging a 26-year separatist rebellion in the south. The MILF, which has signed a ceasefire with Manila and is engaged in peace talks, has denied the military's accusations.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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