Bus bombed in Southern Philippines

KIDAPAWAN CITY - A powerful bomb explosion ripped through a passenger bus on Sunday and killed one civilian and injured at least 11 others in Tacurong City in the southern Philippine province of Sultan Kudarat.

Philippine Army says 6 wounded in bus bombing in South

COTABATO CITY – The 6^th Infantry Division said six passengers were wounded in the bombing of a provincial bus in the township of Parang in the restive province of Maguindanao in the Muslim autonomous region.

Provincial bus bombed in southern Philippines

A screenshot from the Facebook page of Maddamme Vayotzz shows an explosive expert clad in a bomb suit inspecting the Rural Transit Mindanao bus in Maguindanao's Parang town. (Best available photo)

Security forces told to stay vigilant

CEBU CITY – Counter-terrorism analyst Dr. Rommel Banlaoi warned security sector in central Philippines to stay vigilant on the possible spill over of terrorist threats from Mindanao while preparing for any eventualities in the contested West Philippine Sea.

Taliban return may revitalize SEA terrorist groups

THE TALIBAN'S takeover of Afghanistan was swift and thorough. The U.S. government’s $83 billion project of state-building failed spectacularly. And the U.S. military’s provision of $6 billion a year in security assistance proved meaningless, as Afghan security forces simply evaporated in the face of Taliban offensives, surrendering without a fight.

Olutanga police seize nearly 3,000 pounds of high explosive chemical

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Policemen seized 53 bags of ammonium nitrate weighing nearly 3,000 pounds - which is widely used by rebels and terrorists in the manufacture of explosives - following the arrest of a man in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay, a regional police spokeswoman said.

Report presence of foreigners

BARANGAY OFFICIALS in Zamboanga City were ordered to report and monitor the presence of foreigners in their respective areas as part of security precautions.

Security forces praised

MAYOR BENG Climaco praised members of the security forces in Zamboanga City for their hardwork, swift response and steadfast dedication in protecting the public from all kinds of threats – terrorism, violent extremism and even crimes.

Cebu safe despite UK travel advisory

CEBU CITY – Governor Hilario Davide Jr. said Cebu province remains safe for local and foreign tourists after police and military authorities have assured the safety of the public against threats of terrorism and insurgency.

The Foreign Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom issued the travel advisory on December 31 and updated it on January 9 and it has included the municipalities of Badian and Dalaguete up to the southern part of Cebu.

“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups. The FCO advise against all but essential travel to the remainder of Mindanao (excluding Camiguin, Dinagat and Siargao Islands) and to the south of Cebu province, up to and including the municipalities of Dalaguete and Badian, due to the threat of terrorism.”

Tourism officers from different cities and municipalities in Cebu met recently with the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) and the military’s Central Command (Centcom) to discuss the security situation. Provincial information officer Ainjeliz Orong said the Cebu government hosted the security briefing and that Chief Inspector Florendo Fajardo, of the provincial police force, assured Davide that security measures are in place to keep the entire Cebu safe for tourists.

But Fajardo said: “We are not discounting the possibilities of threats and with the number of tourist influx especially during Sinulog and upcoming summer season, we will always beef up our security measures and double our vigilance against lawless elements.” Colonel Noel Baluyan, Centcom Task Force Cebu commander, agreed with the police that Cebu is a safe place for travel.

He said troops have been deployed across the province to beef up security, even in the absence of travel advisory from abroad. Davide thanked the police and military for its assurance and making Cebu safe not only for tourists, but for local residents as well. However, he said: “We have to be very watchful.” He said intelligence gathering of the police and the military could be bolstered by tapping barangay workers as well as the communities.

Chief Superintendent Dennis Agustin, Central Visayas deputy regional director, told local media that while there is no imminent threat in Cebu in time for the celebration of the 2019 Sinulog Festival and the Fiesta Señor, it is appropriate to take precautionary measures to ensure a peaceful province.

"We may be inconvenienced, but it is for the security and safety of the greater majority," Agustin said, adding that they are confident that the National Telecommunications Commission in Central Visayas will implement a signal a shutdown on January 19 and 20, when locals and visitors converge in this city for the annual celebration in honor of the Holy Child.

Senior Superintendent Royima Garma, Cebu City police chief, said they are monitoring “new faces” who may have come from other places to disrupt the events. “We are continuously coordinating with the intelligence community. We are monitoring the areas that will be filled with people,” she said. (John Rey Saavedra)

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Military wants stronger anti-terror law

PHILIPPINE MILITARY CHIEF Carlito Galvez has suggested that suspected terrorist should be detained for at least 30 days even without a valid court order considering the complexities of investigating terror acts in the present security landscape.

Galvez made the proposal during a recent Senate hearing on the proposed amendments to the Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007. Senator Panfilo Lacson chairs the Senate Committee Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.

Under the said law, suspected terrorists “may not be detained for more than three days without the written approval of a municipal, city, provincial or regional official of a Human Rights Commission or judge of the municipal, regional trial court, the Sandiganbayan or a justice of the Court of Appeals nearest the place of the arrest.”

Galvez said the three-day reglementary period is not enough to get information from captured suspected and hardcore terrorists. “Based on our experience, if we were able to capture a very ideologue bomber, more or less wala tayong,” he said, citing the bombing in Sultan Kudarat’s Isulan town where troops captured several suspects, but the military was unable to get any information from them and released them.

“Because of our permissive laws, the bombers were able to be released from detention,” he said.

Besides, being able to get the substantive and corroborating information, Galvez said the 30-day detention period for suspected terrorist is also a good “disruptive measure” to prevent further threats.

“Normally, terrorists act within a cell or in different cells. Thirty days is also a pre-emptive measure, wherein if there are also other co-conspirators that will have a simultaneous terrorist attack, that 30 days is a good disruptive measure for counteractions to prevent imminent attacks,” he said.

“They can be a lone wolf or a pack of wolves, and sometimes deception is involved wherein a cell is meant to be captured to allow other cells to perpetrate a bigger attack. Thirty days would be enough to completely disrupt or completely defeat the threat.”

Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año agreed with Galvez, saying: “Thirty days is actually enough time for the security sector to conduct all intensive investigations, follow-up operations and counteractions.”

He, however, said it does not mean that the 30-day detention period would be used to the maximum. “If we have already neutralized the plan and can already file charges, even less than 30 days is enough. But the 30 day-period guarantees that the security forces can do its job properly,” said Año, a former military chief.

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo, said an extended detention period is needed adding that the country is facing a totally different security landscape than when the HSA was first passed.

“When the law was passed, there was no such problem as extremism or the type of threat that we are experiencing today,” he said.

Monteagudo said the Philippines now has the weakest anti-terrorism law in the region, and it is the reason why the country is attracting foreign terrorist fighters even from as far as Iraq, Syria and Morocco.

He said the proposal might not even be sufficient to determine the domestic and international links of the suspected terrorists. “The 30 days should even be extendable if necessary, considering that the investigations that we conduct not only concern domestic networks but also international networks.

It takes time for us to establish and coordinate with other foreign countries regarding the terrorist networks,” Monteagudo said. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also urged for a stronger anti-terrorism law, saying martial law would not be necessary if the country’s anti-terror law has more teeth.

President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the entire Mindanao under martial law from May 23, 2017 until the end of this year after Islamic State-inspired local and foreign terrorists seize Marawi City. Under martial law, security forces are allowed to make warrantless arrests.

Philippine police chief Oscar Albayalde also called for a stronger law against terrorism. “With the global threat of terrorism now confronting our country, today is the most opportune time to highlight the shortcomings of the provisions of the Human Security Act so that we may be able to craft a more effective anti-terrorism law, one that law enforcement and the military would not have the utmost difficulty in implementing,” he said.

Lacson is seeking to amend the provisions of HSA through his Senate Bill 1956, in order to strengthen a law that he said has become a “useless piece of legislation” through the years.

In pushing for stronger legislation, Lacson noted that since its enactment 11 years ago, no person or organization has been prosecuted under the HSA. Lacson, a former police chief, added that since the 9/11 terror attack against the United States, Australia has already legislated 61 new anti-terror measures.

“As lawmakers, we cannot in good conscience remain silent and do nothing about our primary law against terrorism, becoming nothing more than a useless piece of legislation,” the chairman of the Senate Committee Public Order and Dangerous Drugs said at the start of the hearing.

He said while an anti-terror law in itself cannot solve the problem of terrorism, government and law enforcers should be given the much-needed tool to prevent, respond to, and address the growing threat of terrorism.

“We cannot allow this to continue. We must act now. Our inaction will make us equally accountable for every death, injury and damage terrorists inflict on our country,” Lacson said. (Jose Cielito Reganit)

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