‘Let’s not allow terrorists to destroy our day’

Amid a spate of bomb attacks in Metro Manila, President Arroyo called on the people yesterday to prevent their lives from being controlled by terrorists.

"Let us not allow terrorists to destroy our day. Let us live our lives normally under the protection of our authorities. Let this be our unified act of defiance against terrorists," the President said. "A few troublemakers with limited capabilities are trying to bully 80 million Filipinos into living in fear and terror in their own homes and neighborhoods."

She urged the public to remain calm and cooperate with authorities. She also vowed to bring to justice the perpetrators of deadly bombings in Zamboanga City and Metro Manila.

Meeting local executives of Metro Manila, the President announced that mayors would be at the forefront of the battle against terrorism.

This, she said, was inspired by the success of Rudolph Giuliani in leading New York out of the horrors of the destruction of the World Trade Center last year when he was mayor of the city. Giuliani was given a free hand by US President George W. Bush in making New York rise from the ashes of the attack.

The President appeared on national television a few hours after the bombing of a passenger bus in Balintawak, Quezon City Friday night that killed two people and wounded at least 19 others.

The attack came a day after twin bombings rocked a commercial district in Zamboanga City and a week after bombs exploded in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato.

"Let us not allow ourselves to be cowed into submission by those who seek to terrorize us," the President said. "Let our calm determination to pursue our normal lives overwhelm their malicious intent to disrupt."

"Such a unified act of defiance against terrorism should be manifested by the public by cooperating with government and law enforcement authorities in providing timely information or tips on suspicious activities in places or areas where they may be plotting possible terrorist attacks," Mrs. Arroyo added.

The President also gave assurance that justice will be meted out to perpetrators of the bomb attacks and that our law enforcement agencies are in full alert.

Later in the day, the Chief Executive convened an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Oversight Committtee on Internal Security (COCIS) with the 17 Metro Manila mayors at Malacañang where she unveiled a 10-point police-community anti-terrorism plan aimed at managing incidents of terrorists attacks.

Mrs. Arroyo ordered the mayors to implement the plan, loosely referred to as the "Guiliani formula."

Emerging from the meeting, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez told The STAR that the Guiliani formula effectively makes the local executives in Metro Manila, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as the frontliners in the government’s localized anti-terrorism campaign.

He said that it is part of the three tiered anti-terror contigency plan of the government, which include "target hardening" and "incident management".

Briefing Palace reporters after the meeting, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the Metro Manila local exceutives, to whom the President recently granted full control and supervision over their respective police forces, would take charge of implementing the security measures against possible terrorist threats.

This was confirmed by Mayors Lito Atienza of Manila, Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City, Rey Malonzo of Caloocan City and Benhur Abalos of Mandaluyong City, whose respective districts were among the biggest hosts of high impact terrorist targets.

Described as most likely high impact targets are places frequented by crowds such as shopping malls and commercial centers as well as telecom towers and power stations.

Anti-terror legislative initiative

With these developments, a bicameral, multi-partisan effort to help solve the spate of terror bombings is now being initiated in Congress.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara said that Congress has members with expertise in police and military matters, national security concerns, legal matters and local government concerns.

"A collective effort on terrorism will bring the well-studied strategies in dealing with terror," he said.

Meanwhile, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. brushed aside the possibility of declaring Metro Manila under a state of emergency.

"Let us observe before we panic into declaring authoritarian measures," he urged. "This is a global phenomenon, not a sole problem of the Philippines.

That is why, he said, he sees the need to strengthen intelligence gathering and the deployment of more foot soldiers into the areas of convergence and vital public installations.

In the interim, Sen. Angara is also calling for increased police presence in Zamboanga City, North Cotabato and Metro Manila. He is also for police training focusing on bombing and other acts of terror. — With AFP, Eva de Leon