Bombings won’t stop Estrada trial — Pimentel

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. gave assurances yesterday that last Saturday’s spate of bomb attacks in Metro Manila will not derail the three-week-old impeachment trial of President Estrada.

"We will continue to perform our functions regardless of any terrorist threat," Pimentel said.

He said the trial and the special session of Congress which will resume tomorrow will go on as scheduled to tackle urgent measures, including the Omnibus Power bill, amendments to the Organic Act of Mindanao and the proposed budget for 2001.

Pimentel surmised that the five bombing incidents that rocked Metro Manila on Saturday and left at least 14 people dead and scores of others wounded was part of a well-orchestrated plot to sow terror as a means of pursuing a political agenda.

He stressed that the government should not be cowed by terrorist threats and use instead all available resources to address security problems head on.

To counter terrorism, Pimentel said government officials from the President to the barangay chairman must make themselves visible to the people to convey the assurance that they are still in control.

"The police must also ensure that the perpetrators of these barbaric acts will be identified, prosecuted and sent to jail for the crime they committed."

Pimentel also said it is too early to blame certain groups for the bomb attacks as investigations were still going on.

He also urged the people to be vigilant and help solve the crimes by reporting to the authorities the presence of suspicious persons in their respective localities.

"A vigilant citizenry will send signal to the terrorists that they cannot just disrupt the peace and get away with it," Pimentel said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Gregorio Honasan warned "grandstanding politicians" who were quick to blame the police and the military for failure to contain terrorism.

Honasan, a former Army colonel, said such irresponsible statement could only "add fuel" to the confusion generated by the bombing spree.

"If there is anyone to be blamed for the failure of the police or the military intelligence, then it will be these politicians who choke their intelligence funds," Honasan said.

"We are now reaping the fruits of our failure to provide the police and the military with proper funding and support," he added.

Honasan, chairman of the Senate committee on peace, unification and reconciliation, also said intelligence buildup cannot be done overnight and the government must provide adequate funding and support to achieve maximum intelligence capability.

He also cited the stalled peace talks with communist insurgents and Muslim separatist guerrillas as among the possible reasons for the bombings.

Honasan said the collapse of the talks left the rebels with no option but to resort to terrorism to draw attention. "The more violent they carry out their attacks, the more attention they would get," he said.