‘RP tried to disrupt summit terror plot’

Security forces tried to disrupt plots by al-Qaeda-linked militants to stage attacks but failed to track them, setting off an alarm that influenced a decision to postpone a pair of Asian summits, officials said yesterday.

The plots may have included a possible car bomb attack in a key city to embarrass the government during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asian summits in Cebu province, a security official told the Associated Press.

The Arroyo administration has been forced to defend its decision to postpone the summits, citing a looming typhoon. The meetings had been scheduled for this week.

Some Abu Sayyaf rebels, along with Indonesian members of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, were believed to have traveled from their strongholds on the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan to carry out the attacks, going through Zamboanga City, said three security officials, who had knowledge of the operations and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Intelligence agents carried out about 10 covert operations, including raids on suspected safehouses, in Zamboanga last month but failed to find the militants, the officials said.

The Cambodian prime minister said a possible attack also played a role, while the Japanese economic minister said the Philippines’ handling of the situation had undermined its credibility.

"We respect the views of other officials in the region, but the Philippines did the right thing in taking no chances with the safety of the leaders," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

"We all know the fickle nature of typhoons and there was no sense at all to act in a reckless and wanton manner," Bunye said in a statement.

"We just have to respect the statements made by these officials. I understand these officials, I think they are from two countries, but the fact remains that we stand by the reason why we postponed the Asean summit and that’s because of the bad weather," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters at the Palace.

"I think we do not even have to contest what might be the basis of these officials of these two countries as we read in the papers but we are just saying that the fact remains that it’s the weather that’s the main reason why there was a decision reached to postpone the summit," he said.

He said had the summits pushed through, foreign delegates would have been barraged with negative news like the onslaught of super typhoons.

"You can imagine the backlash on the national leadership and as it turned out it was a well-deserved decision. Imagine, we are under a state of national calamity," Ermita said.

Vic Lecaros, a spokesman for the summits’ organizing committee, denied that terrorism threats played a role in the decision.

"I was in the room when that decision was taken," Lecaros said. "People were agonizing over weather reports, not security reports... There was no terror, whatever, it was just the weather report."

"Terrorists are threatening everywhere. Those are acts of people that can be countered by security people. What you cannot counter is an act of nature."

Typhoon "Seniang" swept through the Visayas region over the weekend, leaving at least 17 dead and another 17 missing. But Cebu, which forecasters said was unlikely to take a direct hit, only got rain and some gusty winds. A week earlier, super typhoon "Reming" killed more than 1,000 people.

Japanese Trade Minister Akira Amari said on his blog Tuesday that Manila’s explanation wasn’t convincing enough.

"Considering the size of the typhoon and the fact that it would have passed by Sunday morning, the reason for the postponement is extremely puzzling," Amari wrote, mentioning news reports that the move was triggered by terrorism concerns.

Amari added that the postponement "ruined the credibility of the Philippine government," saying the whole idea of hosting the meetings at a resort island was ill-conceived.

"Just the idea of gathering the leaders of 16 countries on tourist-infested Cebu island poses an extreme security risk," Amari wrote.

In separate advisories last Thursday, the US, Britain and Australia warned terrorists might be in the final stages of plotting attacks.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that "a typhoon on one hand and the threat of attack on the other" prompted the postponement.

"The terrorists threatened to launch an attack" in the Philippines, he said.

The attacks allegedly were ordered by Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and top Indonesian terror suspect Dulmatin, targets of a months-long US-backed offensive on Jolo, security officials said.

In the absence of concrete evidence, officials have given conflicting assessments of the threats.

The three security officials separately said the terror threats were a factor in the government’s decision to postpone the high-profile meetings.

But National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said he was not consulted by Mrs. Arroyo regarding the postponement, indicating security was not a factor in her decision.

Gonzales acknowledged there was "raw information" about plots by al-Qaeda-linked militants against the meetings but said they were not substantiated and security officials doubted the militants’ capability to stage a major attack.

"Everything considered, I still give credence to the weather as the cause of the postponement," he told the AP.

The postponement also came amid fresh rumors of another coup plot against Arroyo that might have been linked with planned anti-government protests in Manila at about the same time as the summits.

Bomb plot foiled

Authorities believe they have foiled a terrorist plot in Davao City by a renegade member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front following the discovery of an improvised bomb that is reportedly as deadly as the one used in the 2003 bombings of Sasa Wharf and the old Davao International Airport that left more than 40 people dead.

Joint Air Force and police operatives found the home-made pipe bomb hidden inside a knapsack in a shanty in Asuncion, Davao del Norte late Tuesday. The bomb is 10 inches long and 3.5 inches in diameter. It was not clear who owned the house, but police said no arrest was made.

"It was said to be well-made and ready to be used. The IED (improvised explosive device) can inflict a similar level of damage as that experienced in the 2003 Sasa Wharf bombing," Maj. Augusto dela Peña, Philippine Air Force spokesman said.

"Its only missing part was its battery or an alternative triggering device such as a cellular phone," he added.

The pipe bomb was presented to media by PAF commanding general Lt. Gen. Jose Reyes during the inauguration of the headquarters of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division at the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao base at Camp Panacan in Davao City.

De la Peña said it was Abdul Manap Mentang, a renegade MILF member, who made the bomb. He said the explosive device was similar to the one used in the Sasa Wharf and the Davao City airport bombings. He said Mentang had a direct contact with the Abu Sayyaf and the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah.

He said that last week, PAF intelligence operatives received information about a plan of JI, ASG and renegade MILF members to bomb soft but high-impact targets in Mindanao.

"Davao City was among the targets. The plan was a joint effort by known terrorists identified with the group of Faisal Sarip Abdul Rachman Camile alias Barok," De la Peña said. 

"Information acted on also revealed that the bombs were to be carried by MILF renegades Abo Sama and Salik Ahkmad via Davao Oriental using a sea route from Cotabato that was not susceptible to interception," he said.

Authorities have been tracking down Mentang for months following the dismissal of the case filed against him in connection with the 2003 bombings in Sasa wharf and the old Davao airport.

Mentang is also believed to be responsible for the spate of bombings in North Cotabato last October.

Army-led Task Force Davao commander Col. Eduardo del Rosario told The STAR security measures are in place to stave off possible attacks by Mentang and his group.

Task Force Davao was created in April 2003 following the Sasa wharf bombings. Major provinces in Mindanao have their own anti-terrorist task forces. - AP, Paolo Romero, James Mananghaya, Edith Regalado