Security officials want 30-day detention of terror suspects sans formal charges

Security officials are seeking the passage of an Anti-Terrorism Act allowing authorities to detain for 30 days suspected terrorists without any charges being filed against them in court.

As the Senate winds up its deliberations on the bill, a top intelligence official told The STAR that a technical working group comprised of representatives from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Department of National Defense, Philippine Center for Transnational Crime, Philippine National Police and the anti-terrorism task force Sanglahi has submitted a working paper on the 30-day period of detention to the committee on public order and illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, terrorists appear to have lied low after government operations affected the flow of their funds from abroad.

An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said "effective collaboration" of countries has helped in denying terrorists their funds.

The last two terrorist attacks were the simultaneous blasts in Zamboanga City last Aug. 10, one in front of a fastfood chain and one under a tricycle near the area.

"Terrorists wanted to make it appear that the blast at the multi-cab was a car bomb but in truth, they just placed explosives under the multi-cab," the official added.

With the intensified campaign of the government, the official expressed confidence that terrorists would not be able to make any more attacks.

However, the intelligence officer is hopeful that lawmakers would finally sponsor and approve the long-pending Anti-Terrorist Bill to give authorities more teeth against suspected terrorists.

"With the kind of technology the PNP has, we need more time to investigate the evidence, like for example a laptop seized from a suspected terrorist needs to be autopsied for a certain time," the intelligence officer said.

Police are also monitoring the link of Noordin Mohdtop to terrorists in Mindanao.

"Mohdtop is an active head of a group in Indonesia behind the Bali 1 and 2 attacks under the names of Kaidatul Islamiyah," the official said.

"They invented the name Kaidatul Islamiyah to shield Jemaah Islamiyah from any criminal connotation. JI is a somewhat sacred (term) among Muslims."

Headed by Sen. Manuel Villar, the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs is in the process of consolidating three different bills presented by Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Alfredo Lim and Panfilo Lacson.

The security official cited the need to coordinate with their counterparts abroad, and more time to examine evidence, particularly "digital evidence" like laptops and cellular phones, used by suspected terrorists in their operations.

The source said Australia allows its authorities to detain for five days suspected terrorists, while Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom are authorized to detain them for 15 days. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe