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May 13, 2003, The Philippine Star, Mindanao Terror Suspects Fall, by John Paul Jubelag & Roel Pareno, Tuesday,

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May 13, 2003, The Philippine Star, Mindanao Terror Suspects Fall, by John Paul Jubelag & Roel Pareno, 
Tuesday, 

Three men have been arrested in Koronadal City for alleged links to a deadly weekend bomb attack in a crowded market there that killed nine people and wounded 26 others. 

One of the suspects was nabbed in a raid on Koronadal's Muslim neighborhood, police investigator SPO4 Jonathan Jovero said. Twelve men were released after being rounded up and questioned. 

In Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, government troops captured seven Muslim separatists, including a commander who participated in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) raid on that town last May 4, [2002] military officials said yesterday. 

Thirty-four people were killed and 26 others wounded as 150 MILF raiders pillaged Siocon's commercial district in a dawn raid on May 4, the day of the town fiesta. One of the arrested suspects was believed also behind the abduction of an Italian priest several years ago. 

49-year-old jobless man, Alex Luntayan, in whose house the suspected bombers allegedly slept before Saturday's attack on the Koronadal public market, was being held, Jovero said. 

One of the two other suspects, Kandidatu Gubat, 32, was arrested at the market while Interior Secretary Jose Lina and national police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. were inspecting the blast site. 

Hours later, Ryan Salampong, 20, was apprehended nearby after he was overheard by a police intelligence agent boasting in his native Maguindanaoan dialect about his involvement in the bombing. 

It was earlier believed that the bomber was killed when the explosive device went off prematurely. 

Gubat's relatives denied he was involved, saying he was only selling charcoal at the market. Salampong, meanwhile, presented an identification card during questioning showing that he was a student at a nearby high school. 

Officials have blamed the MILF for the bombing that ripped through Koronadal City's crowded market sidewalk Saturday. 

Last May 4, the rebels burned the Siocon marketplace and four houses, attacked the town hall and absconded with 15 hostages for use as human shields. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) identified the captured MILF commander as Abdusalam Akiddin, alias Commander Kiddie. 

Akiddin was reportedly among those who abducted Italian priest Luciano Benedetti five years ago. 

Army 1st Division commander Brig. Gen. Triponio Salazar, who heads the operation against the Siocon raiders, said fighting erupted in the mountain complex of Sipakit in Sirawai town and led to the capture of the seven suspects. 

He said the captured rebels were immediately turned over to the police for the filing of appropriate charges. 
"The rebels also burned a thatch (hut) of a family of villagers to divert our troops' attention," Salazar said. 

Not responsible 

Yesterday, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu insisted that the MILF was not responsible. "The government should investigate first to determine the identities of the real culprits before pointing an accusing finger at the MILF," he said.

Lina said yesterday the bomb, fashioned from a 81-mm. mortar shell, resembled devices the rebels allegedly used in two attacks in Koronadal earlier this year. A bomb in March wounded three people. 

Shortly after the blast, Koronadal Mayor Fernando Miguel said a man who identified himself as Abu Solaiman of the Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility. 

Abu Solaiman, the alias of Jainal Antel Sali Jr., has been calling up since last year to demand P4 million a month to "spare Koronadal city from bomb attacks," the mayor said, adding that he had refused. 

But there was no independent confirmation that the call came from Solaiman. He has been linked to other bombings, and Washington has offered a $5-million reward for his capture. Washington considers the Abu Sayyaf a terrorist group. 

Local authorities appear suspicious of the claim because it was not the first time that an Abu Sayyaf member has claimed responsibility for an attack believed to have been carried out by the MILF. 

Last week, the government pulled out of a planned informal meeting with the MILF after the rebels killed 10 civilians and 12 soldiers and police in a May 4 attack on the town of Siocon in Zamboanga del Norte province. 

The rebels later acknowledged the raid was a "tactical blunder" after the government said it was considering branding the MILF a terrorist organization. 

Meanwhile, the military has deployed units around Cotabato City in nearby Maguindanao province to thwart possible bomb attacks similar to the one in Koronadal. 

Police chief Senior Superintendent Peraco Macacua said undercover police officers have also been deployed inside the city, which has suffered MILF bomb attacks in the past. 

Local Muslim leaders have been asked to monitor suspicious characters in their communities. 

Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, Armed Forces vice chief, said the military was doing its best to find the Koronadal bombers and prevent terrorist attacks. 

He denied criticisms that the bombing was a result of "poor intelligence work" by the military and the police, saying authorities "cannot be 100 percent sure" that they can prevent all terrorist attacks. 

"There will be some that will get through. This is the principle of terrorism," he said. "In fact, there had been a troop augmentation from the 27th Infantry Battalion even before this incident happened." 

The rebels, who have been fighting for a separate Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines, denied involvement. 

But they say they have the right to defend themselves against a military offensive that drove them from a major camp outside the town of Pikit, North Cotabato, in February. 

About 3,500 refugees crowding evacuation centers in Pikit have refused to return to their homes for fear of more MILF attacks in efforts to retake the camp. 

Two weeks ago, suspected rebels fired grenades that exploded on the roof of a gymnasium housing dozens of Muslim families. Six people were injured. 

With the rainy season approaching, health officials fear an outbreak of cholera and typhoid unless the congestion in the refugee centers is eased. 

The military accused the MILF of retaliating by bombing a wharf in Davao city on April 2, killing 16 people, and the city's international airport on March 4, killing 22. 

The rebels denied any involvement. Criminal charges were filed against MILF chairman Hashim Salamat and several other top leaders for the airport bombing. 

The President ordered the military yesterday to continue its clearing operations until all MILF rebels who attacked the town of Maigo, Lanao del Norte last April 24 are captured or killed. 

Mrs. Arroyo visited this province after Zamboanga del Norte to condole with relatives of the attack that killed at least 16 civilians, and urged provincial Gov. Imelda Dimaporo and local officials to put up a defense plan in coordination with the military and police. 

"If we want to win, we must be together. If there is no unified command, we will be defeated," she said. Savior and hero The fighting raged as the President and key Cabinet members visited Siocon and Sirawai Monday. 

The Chief Executive deplaned at the Sirawai airstrip, where four 105-mm. howitzers were lined up with their barrels facing the Sipakit complex where the MILF rebels sought refuge. 

Mrs. Arroyo immediately left for Siocon "to help in the immediate task of community restoration" and spoke directly to the town's residents. 

"We bleed for the victims of terrorism, but there is a time for rising up again and restoring what has been destroyed," she told the 4,000 people gathered at Siocon town hall. "We will not allow terrorism to stay here." 

"The military is now hunting these terrorists and striking them with impunity," she told the villagers. 

The President also said her administration will continue working on the peace and order and development of Siocon and other towns in Mindanao besieged by terrorism. 

The Siocon residents, holding placards hailing Mrs. Arroyo as "our savior and our hero," cheered the President as a drizzle fell on the town square. 

She praised the townsfolk for not being cowed by the attacks and comforted a nine-year-old boy who lost both parents in the raid. 

A banner on the town hall declared: "We condemn terrorism. Justice for Siocon," as flags flew at half mast in memory of the dead. 

Mrs. Arroyo also visited the wakes of four of the eight policemen who died defending the town hall. 

"I salute the soldiers and policemen who gave up their lives in defense of the community," she said, adding that she has approved a scholarship fund of P400,000 for the young children of the eight policemen and army personnel who were killed, "so that their children will have the opportunity to go to school." 

Besides that, she "has already released the resources to repair the damaged facilities" of the town, including P5 million for the "immediate reconstructions of your palengke (market) as "Gov. Isagani Amatong is starting to clear the area to pave the way for the immediate start of the (market's) construction." 

The infrastructure program will be looked into by the GEM program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), she said, "like some farm-to-market roads and the upgrading of (Siocon's) pier facilities." 

She has also asked Smart Communications "to put up a temporary cell site to assist in the communications needs of the community and "directed the Quedancor and Land Bank to provide start up capital for small enterprises" there. 

Some P800 million has also been earmarked "for programs for the (Siocon-Sirawai-Sibuco) region," she said. 

"We must never allow terrorism to permanently damage the institutions of our community, the institutions of law and order, solidarity and economic progress. To do so would mean a surrender to evil and enable it to strike again with impunity, " she said in a statement. 

After the Siocon raid, the President suspended peace talks with the MILF and ordered the government to mount "punitive" actions against the MILF rebels and a diplomatic offensive to isolate the group and cut off their support from Islamic countries. 

Lack of air support 

While the military pursuit of the Siocon raiders is underway, the operation is hampered by the lack of air support, the AFP said yesterday. 

AFP spokesman and vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia also admitted the possibility that the MILF rebels they are pursuing may have slipped though the military cordon around the Siocon-Sirawai area. 

"There is always that possibility (that the rebels broke through the military cordon), but our troops are trying their best to track them down in the mountains of (the) Sirawai-Siocon area," he said. 

Garcia said the cordoning and pursuit operations are being conducted by three battalions from the 102nd brigade, a reconnaissance unit from the Army's 1st Division and a Scout Ranger unit. 

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes earlier said the attack on Siocon was meant to divert the military, which is still flushing out the Abu Sayyaf on the small island of Pilas located between Sulu and Basilan. 

Reyes also said the attack on Siocon could have been triggered by the townsfolk's refusal to give in to the extortion of the Abu Sayyaf. 

"There have been some extortion activities in the Siocon area and, perhaps, the extortion efforts had not been as productive as they thought (they would be)," Reyes said. "Our theory is that this (attack) was caused by the reluctance of the people to provide extortion money," he said. 

Siocon residents make a living by panning for gold in the mineral-rich area. 

Garcia said the MILF will soon be declared a terrorist group as a result of the attack on Siocon and the bombing in Koronadal. 

A study group is now looking into possibility of putting a terrorist label on the MILF for its use of terrorist tactics, he said, and a recommendation is expected soon. 

Garcia said troops have already been inserted along the boundaries of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay to block the exit of fleeing MILF rebels. 

The AFP also lashed out at its critics as it said there was no failure of intelligence in the Koronadal bombing. 

"We were not remiss, that is the meaning of lapse of intelligence," Garcia said. "Our people are doing their best, the police, the armed forces, but there are some things that would be rather difficult to prevent and we cannot absolutely work out a one hundred percent batting average." 

Garcia reacted to South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Fuentes' statement that the Koronadal blast could have been prevented if intelligence funds were used properly by the military and the police. 

For his part, AFP public information office chief Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero also lashed out at Fuentes. "In the government's anti-terrorism drive, the AFP and the PNP will not be totally effective unless they are supported by the local government units and by the civilians." 

The Koronadal blast could have been prevented if people aware of the threat informed the military or the police about it, he added. With Mike Frialde, James Mananghaya, John Unson, Lino dela Cruz, Bong Fabe, AFP 

Copyright- Philstar.com, Inc. All rights reserved

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