In a country where punctuality and punctiliousness even from senior government officials are a rarity, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople’s July 23 statement that Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi was expected to be recaptured within three days puzzled, if not bewildered, a lot of people. It continues to do so, despite the distraction posed by the seizure by renegade soldiers of the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center early yesterday.
The deadline imposed by Ople lapsed Saturday, but the re-arrest of Indonesian terror suspect Al-Ghozi, an alleged bomb expert with the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror network who escaped July 14, did not happen.
In a face-saving measure and to immediately quell potential backlash, Malacañang hastily said Thursday that Ople’s pronouncement was an expression of optimism. Ople uttered the controversial statement in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe foreign ministers meeting where Al-Ghozi was a hot item.
"We’re not putting any specific time frame. But considering the manpower involved and the different levels of government that are being tapped for this operation, we believe progress will be made soon. But we’re not putting any specific dates," Bunye told reporters.
The recapture of Al-Ghozi will greatly help the Arroyo government regain domestic and international credibility in its anti-terror campaign, which was immensely shattered by the escape. Others jokingly refer to it as a "release."
But what cannot be denied is that the escape of Al-Ghozi and the longer he remains out there, the more lethal the political cost to President Arroyo, who has anchored her survival to her anti-terror campaign closely intertwined to that of US President George W. Bush.
Whoever was responsible for freeing Al-Ghozi, that party had caused a major international embarrassment for the Philippine government.
There were wild suggestions that Al-Ghozi may be presented to the media in time for today’s State of the Nation Address by Mrs. Arroyo. The ploy, observers say, may be intended to divert the attention of the citizenry away from the dismal state of the nation where poverty is as grinding as ever.
Due to the Al-Ghozi debacle, the US, Britain, and New Zealand had issued advisories warning their citizens against travel to the Philippines. The advisories, and the Sunday move by rogue soldiers, had dealt a destructive blow to Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon’s tourism program.
On July 14, Al-Ghozi and two other suspects walked to their freedom from the heavily guarded Camp Crame, the headquarters of the Philippine National Police. Al-Ghozi is accused of masterminding a spate of bombings in Manila three years ago. He was arrested while carrying explosives, which he said were meant to bomb the US embassy in Singapore and other Western targets there.
In Bali, Ople had said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has agreed to a ceasefire with the government, had informed the Philippine police on Al-Ghozi.
"I have spoken to the Philippine National Police and they said they expect to have results in the next two to three days," Ople had said. It cannot be demystified until now why Ople made the announcement without any strong and clear assurance of any capture.
"Five thousand policemen are looking for Al-Ghozi. With the MILF volunteering to help, there is no place for him to hide," Ople said further.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu had denied Ople’s claims that the Muslim group had tipped the government on Al-Ghozi, but said they were ready to help in his capture.