Arroyo seeks help of Church in arrest of Makati blast suspects

By Ronron
October 20, 2007

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is seeking the help of the religious sector in solving the bombing last Friday at Glorietta 2 in Makati City that killed nine people and wounded about a hundred others.

In the National Security Council (NSC) and Anti-Terrorism Task Force (ATTF) meeting at Camp Crame, Quezon City yesterday, Arroyo directed Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo to coordinate with church leaders for the identification of the suspect in the incident.

“As additional instructions, can you coordinate with the church leaders so that we can get their support in extorting the people to help identify the perpetrators or at least cooperate with the authorities,” Arroyo told Saludo.

Also, she directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) “to closely supervise and reinforce the civilian security guards in both the public and private establishments” as preventive measure to another bombing.

To this, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said: “I have just given our Chief PNP a guidance to coordinate with the Peace and Order Councils throughout the country to do three things.”

First is for the coordination of “all security agencies with the PNP so there will be seamless security.” Second is the “coordination between the security cameras of the malls and buildings” in Metro Manila with the National Capital Region Police Office’s (NCRPO) security camera system. And finally, “we are going to request that the PNP roving patrols throughout the country will be coordinated with the Peace and Order Council, with the village watchmen, and civilian security volunteers.”

In her opening speech at the meeting addressed to the public, Arroyo appealed for “unity in staying vigilant against threats and other hindrance to” national development.

“My fellow countrymen, we are faced now with new hindrances into the strengthening of our economy – terrorism, oil price hike in the international market, and the continuing political instability. To fight them, we need to embolden our spirit, join hands together, strive and sacrifice, and not be influenced by those pushing for violence, fear and divisiveness,” Arroyo said in Filipino.

“It is in unity and striving hard that we will win as a Filipino nation,” she added.

The chief executive noted that members of the US-ASEAN Business Council with whom she had dined with on Friday night have not “changed any of their plans” in holding a business mission in the country.

But even with this positive feedback, she asked Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos to convey to the international community the latest developments in the investigation of the bombing.

“We hope that you will inform your constituencies about the developments in the investigation so that appropriate advisories can be made available. So this means that you will inform the diplomatic corps in the country as well as the Philippine embassies abroad,” Arroyo said.

Authorities have already called the bombing as a terrorist act but they have yet to identify the group or individuals behind it./DMS