MANILA, Philippines – Government security forces have intensified security monitoring in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu, the known lairs of al-Qaeda sympathizer Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), following the death of Osama bin Laden.
In an interview, National Security Adviser Cesar Garcia said they are also conducting close security monitoring in some parts of Mindanao but cited “There is no definite threat to the Philippines."
Garcia, meanwhile, allayed fears of a possible sympathy attack in Metro Manila, saying government forces are enhancing security measures in places that frequented by the public in view of any possible retaliatory attack from sympathizers of bin Laden.
“Threat in Metro Manila remains moderate,†he said, while assuring that the country’s security forces have been put on alert for possible retaliatory attacks from extremist groups, including Asia’s Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
The military said it is intensifying the collection of intelligence operations against terrorist threats in the country.
“We will always be more vigilant. We should not let our guards down,†said military spokesman Arnulfo Burgos.
Burgos said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is also intensifying its operation in Basilan and Sulu to prevent the bandit group from conducting terrorist operations in urban areas.
For its part, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it is on full alert and is closely monitoring the country’s vital installations including airports, seaports, commercial buildings, and other areas of public convergence.
PNP spokesman Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the police’s 500-member elite Special Action Force have been deployed to augment security in Mindanao.
“Our Special Action Force is on full alert,†Cruz said, while clarifying that they have not monitored any specific terror threats.
Bin Laden’s death won’t end radical Islam
A local counter-terrorism expert believes that the death of bin Laden will have minimal effect on the ASG and other Moro groups in Mindanao.
In a radio interview, retired police intelligence officer Rodolfo “Boogie†Mendoza, chief of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research (PIPVTR), said Moro threat groups can still get funds from other terror groups, including JI.
“Bin Laden is not the only one who could give financial support to these kinds of groups,†Mendoza said.
He warned that the government should not underestimate the capability of local threat groups, particularly those in Mindanao.
This was exemplified in on the death of ASG founding leader Abdurajak Janjalani in the 1990s. Despite his death, the group continued to thrive and even gained more notoriety, Mendoza said.
“The death of bin Laden does not mean the death of radical Islam,†he said.