US alert: Terrorists may seek sanctuary in RP

The US government alerted Philippine authorities yesterday that terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks in Washington, DC and New York might flee to the country and seek refuge among their cohorts.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provided a list of 180 suspected terrorists to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and asked that suspects matching the profiles be held for questioning.

BI Commissioner Andrea Domingo confirmed receiving the alert but expressed fear that some of the suspects may already have entered the country and may be targeting the former US military bases at Clark Field and Subic Bay.

"Be very careful, be very vigilant," Domingo appealed to the public in a speech before the Rotary Club of Angeles. "Give us information on any suspicious activities of foreigners and their local counterparts."

A few hours after receiving the alert, immigration authorities arrested a foreigner in Cebu City who held fake travel documents and may be linked to the Al-Qaida (The Camp) terrorist organization of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

Domingo said the suspect claimed to be Belgian but turned out to be Jordanian. He also accumulated large telephone bills shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We have documents on all the phone calls he made and we are tracing them," Domingo said.

The BI, however, refused to release further details on the detained foreigner but pledged to present him to media today.

The Palace has named the BI as the lead agency in investigating foreigners, including 340 students from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa who are enrolled in various colleges and universities in the country.

Among the students are 12 who are enrolled at a local aviation school, added Domingo who earlier said four of the terrorists who were on board the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York may have been frequent visitors to the country.

But National Security Adviser Roilo Golez stressed the authorities are still trying to verify if the four suspects are indeed the same persons.

"We will be very cautious about this. We will be very thorough. It is better to err on the side of prudence in these times," Golez said.

"It is very tempting (to jump to conclusions) and this might result in discrimination which is unfair, unjustifiable and inhuman because some of our foreign friends who are ‘Arab-looking’ are seen as terrorists," Golez added.

Domingo also appealed against discrimination and stressed the authorities are only taking "emergency" measures to ensure public safety.

"We do care about our foreign guests but we have to subject them to secondary inspections. This is an emergency situation, a critical situation and we have to protect our people before we can even consider the convenience of people coming in as guests," she said.

She said authorities are now checking the FBI list with the BI arrival and departure records and are also conducting background checks of about 4,000 to 5,000 foreigners in the country.

"That doesn’t mean they are terrorists but that some of them might fit the profile (provided by the FBI)," she added.

Domingo did not release the FBI list but said the 180 terrorists in the list are "all male, in their early 20s, of certain nationalities and bearing certain kinds of travel documents."

The US alert came after Domingo disclosed that four of the terrorists who are suspected of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks visited the country for 21 days last year and early this year.

Domingo revealed that Ahmed Fayez, Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Saed al-Ghamdi and Abdullaziz al-Omari were allowed to enter the country without a visa because records showed they were frequent visitors to the country.

Authorities suspect that terrorists linked to Bin Laden established and maintain "terrorist cells" in the country and may include Muslim bandits in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan claimed yesterday that certain rights would have to be compromised in the war against local terrorist groups.

"To fight terrorism, you have to give up certain civil rights to protect a bigger number of people. As to what extent civil rights will be compromised would have to be determined," Adan said.

Adan made the assertion as civil rights groups questioned military practices such as checkpoints and improper arrests.

Adan also clarified that the military is not claiming it could eradicate the Abu Sayyaf bandit group in Mindanao by November but pledged it would be able to control the bandits.

He said AFP chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva gave the November deadline so military commanders could pace the ongoing military search and rescue operation.

"There is actually a building up of our forces and we are very, very ready," Adan said, adding that two more battalions were deployed in Basilan to beef up the nine battalions already deployed to cordon fleeing Abu Sayyaf bandits holding some 21 hostages, including at least two Americans. - With Marichu Villanueva, Jose Aravilla, Miriam Garcia Desacada