Immigration chief downplays al-Qaeda threat

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo downplayed yesterday the warning made by United States officials regarding the threat from groups linked with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, saying the deportation of or tight watch on suspected foreign terrorists has sapped the finances of local terrorist groups.

Despite this, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is still keeping a close watch on some 14 to 16 foreigners, mostly Indonesians, Pakistanis and Malaysians, suspected of operating in Mindanao, Domingo said.

Domingo made this statement in an interview with The STAR during the closing of the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3 forum on the prevention and containment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) here.

The US State Department earlier expressed concern "about the possibility of a terrorist attack in Southeast Asia similar to last year’s bombings in the Indonesian resort island of Bali."

US officials cited such threats, particularly in the Philippines and Malaysia in the wake of the bomb attack in Koronadal City, South Cotabato on May 10 and the bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Monday.

Domingo said the government has been aware of local threats from foreign-backed groups linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network since 2001, after the terror attacks on Washington and New York City.

"We were already aware of the group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which was organizing a balik-Muslim program," she said.

Even before the New York City attack, she said, former police intelligence head Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Berroya uncovered training camps used by suspected terrorists in Tarlac and Pangasinan.

Berroya reported then that funds for the suspected terrorists’ training were provided by the JI, which he linked with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Together with intelligence people, we were able to trace the sources of funds for the training camps to two Jordanians who have already been deported," Domingo said.

She said that since the deportation of the Jordanian citizens, "funding sources (of suspected terrorist cells linked to al-Qaeda) have dried up."

However, funds from overseas still seem to flow into Mindanao, Domingo said. Terrorist groups, she said, "no longer have as much funding as before, so they operate in small pockets, although they no longer kidnap nationals from other countries."

During Holy Week this year, she added, foreigners in Mindanao were believed to have backed local terrorists who reportedly attempted seven bomb attacks in the cities of Koronadal and General Santos.

The plans of these would-be bombers were foiled by the tight security operations of the Philippine Air Force and the police in Mindanao, she said.

Domingo also insisted that 11 Iraqi nationals rounded up in Metro Manila a few months ago remain under tight watch. Five of the Iraqis are to be deported, three are still in detention and three have posted bail. — With Jose Rodel Clapano