As PNP says no bomb parts seized: Authorities reiterate no terrorism threat

Terror threat has never been the reason for the postponement of the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, which was supposedly scheduled from December 10 to 14 in Cebu, a summit official reiterated yesterday.

This developed as Sr. Supt. Agusto Marquez, the Regional Investigation and Intelligence Division chief, yesterday brushed off report about the seizure of bomb components at the Mactan Cebu International Airport the other night.

Summit spokesman Ambassador Victoriano Lecaros, during the weekly 888 News Forum at the Port Seafood Restaurant, brushed aside reports that the summit's postponement was due to terrorism.

Lecaros also laughed off a report on the plan to poison Cebu's water system by terrorist groups. Regional police director C/Supt. Silverio Alarcio Jr. described the report as "wild speculation."

Although the summit security people would treat any information as serious, Lecaros said: "We do not have a big dam here and we source our water underground, so poisoning the water system that could create one disastrous damage cannot easily be done."

Marquez, who had attended the Vital Installations Security Training Course last November, told The Freeman that the information was just a "fallacy."

"It is a fallacy, you can't just poison the water system, you will need plenty trucks loaded with cyanides to be able to poison the water systems of the whole city, kung mahimo pana gibuhat na na sa Al Qaeda," Marquez explained.

Lecaros said he was present in last Thursday's meeting with National Organizing Committee secretary general Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr. and Cebu Organizing Committee co-chair Gov. Gwen Garcia during which they eventually decided to suspend the summit.

He said Typhoon Seniang was the only reason why the organizers decided to postpone the summit. "Typhoon for us is common but for Asean-member countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei which have never experienced typhoons, it is something they do not treat lightly."

Marquez said a team of explosives and ordnance experts was sent to check on the seized baggage, which came from Siquijor and bound for Davao City.

He added that based on initial reports, the contents of the two boxes were just electrical instruments with wires used for catching squid. "It was just an electrical device nga pangdakop daw og nukos (squid)."

Supt Elias Abad Jr., the chief of Police Center for Aviation and Security at the MCIA, said the boxes contained only fishing gear. Abad told The Freeman that at around 7:00 p.m. last Monday, one of his personnel assigned at the x-ray machine noticed that a small cargo containing wires.

He said as a procedure, the x-ray operator informed his office and members of the explosives team and air force personnel then checked on the baggage.

Abad disclosed that it is a standard operating procedure for every x-ray machine operator to report to any law enforcement agency any something unusual inside a cargo.

"Gusto ko lang ma-clarify nga ang maong karga wala pa sulod sa Cebu Pacific, naa pa sa gawas," Abad said. - Gregg M. Rubio, Edwin Ian Melecio and Jose P. Sollano/LPM