Bomb score

Last Friday’s bomb explosion at Glorietta-2 in Makati City was yet another example on how a determined terrorist can penetrate even the most tightly guarded mall complex here in our country, or in other countries for that matter. For now, police authorities strongly believe it was a bomb blast considering the extent of damage it caused. Eleven people were killed and more than one hundred mallgoers were injured. We can consider ourselves luckier because in Pakistan, up to 136 people were killed in a suicide bombing incident on Thursday night.

No matter how small or big the number of casualties are, the death of one victim caused by a senseless bomb attack is still one life lost listed as mere crime statistics. Again, we have seen how cruel and heartless these hardcore terrorists could be just to carry out their deadly mission of sowing terror.

What kept the fatalities to a minimum in the Glorietta blast, I guess, is the fact that it happened way past noon or about 1:30 p.m. when there was not much crowd around that time of the day. The casualties would have been more had it happened at night because there would be the usual T.G.I.F. or “Thank God It’s Friday” crowd in the mall.

My teenage twin sons and I go to Glorietta on some Sundays. I know how tight the security in the entry and exit points of this complex. In fact, it teems with security guards roaming around while some even have bomb-sniffing dogs with them. So I was not surprised at all if mallgoers were back at Glorietta a day after as if there was no bombing incident the previous day.

The Glorietta mall consists of four separate adjacent buildings inter-connected to one another by a passageway. The Glorietta-2 where the incident happened is currently closed to the public as the Ayala-owned complex undergoes rigid structural examinations by its team of civil engineers. Initial estimates placed at P100 million the damage caused by the blast. The estimates do not take into account the loss of business incurred by the concessionaires at the mall.

If there is one redeeming value we can draw from here is the fact that our Philippine authorities have notably improved in their response and mitigation measures in case of terrorist bombing attack like this one. The extensive anti-terror training here and abroad by our law enforcement authorities are apparently paying off. This we saw last Friday on how the Philippine National Police (PNP) carried out their anti-terror template.

To his credit, newly-installed PNP director-general Avelino “Sonny” Razon showed the stuff of leadership he has in dealing with a situation like this. Veteran police reporters were quick to recall that Razon’s career as a top cop has been literally highlighted by earth-shaking events. Razon was the chief of the former Western Police District when the bloody Dec.30, 2000 Rizal Day bombing happened in Manila and elsewhere in Metro Manila. Razon was the chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) when the Valentine’s Day 2005 bombing happened in Makati City also. Both were the handiworks of local Al Qaeda-linked Islamic terrorist groups.

Less than three weeks into office as PNP chief, Razon is again on yet another possible terrorist bomb attack at Glorietta-2. Co-incidence or what? Remember, Razon was the WPD chief when he busted in Manila a Pakistani terrorist Ramsy Youssef, the would-be assassin of the late Pope John Paul II in the latter’s hide-out in Manila. Youssef was caught by police under Razon while he and his cohorts were trying to put together an improvised explosive device. Confiscated also in the possession of Youssef were documents and computer laptop detailing bomb plots, including the use of airplanes.

Since Youssef was a wanted international terrorist, Razon transmitted the material evidence to his counterparts in the US Federal authorities for their proper disposition. But apparently, these materials were ignored. And the Philippine discovery of Youssef’s terrorist plots found validation after the horrific Sept.11, 2001 suicide plane attacks in the US by the Al-Qaeda Islamic terror network of Osama bin Laden. This tiny footnote in the 9/11 incident keeps the Philippines in the annual commemoration of these tragic terrorist attacks in the US.

There is no definitive conclusion yet whether the Glorietta-2 blast was a bomb attack or a case of industrial accident. Razon said they are still looking for the fragments of the explosive device, if indeed it was a bomb, to get to the “signature” bomb technique that could lead them to the identities of the terrorists. The terrorist bombing angle is due to the presence of traces of high-grade chemicals known as RDX or research department explosive, a main component of cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine or C-4, for short.

C-4 is a controlled chemical where the military establishment is supposed to be the only one that has access to it. Thus conspiracy theories flew thick anew and rabid anti-administration parties were too quick to fan it. Faced with renewed impeachment and resignation calls against President Arroyo, the “conspiracy theory” artists drew up convincing scenarios in support of their suspicions. Naturally, the suspects are retired and incumbent police and military generals identified as having blind loyalty and ready to do anything to keep the Commander-in-Chief in office until her term ends in June 2010.

On the other hand, police investigators have not abandoned the angle of industrial accident involving liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This is because the “ground zero,” of the primary explosion was triggered at the Luk Yuen Chinese restaurant located inside the mall. Until the bomb experts complete their probe into the Glorietta-2 blast, we must not allow terrorists to make us live in fear and paranoia even as we keep ourselves vigilant against suspicious moves and strangers around us.

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