Mindanao Blasts a Ploy
for U.S. Armed Presence?
Is there a connection between the
Valentine’s Day bombing in Davao
City and plans to hold more
military exercises between the Philippines and the United States?
By CHERYLL D. FIEL
Bulatlat
DAVAO CITY – Was the
Valentine’s Day bombing here self-inflicted?
Anti-U.S. military
forces in Davao
City stressed that the recent bombing
could be part of the plot to justify the entry of U.S. troops particularly
in Mindanao to conduct RP-US
Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) war exercises.
In the indignation
rally here a day after the Feb. 14 bombing, Karapatan Secretary-General
for Southern Mindanao Ariel Casilao said that the bombing should be seen
in the light of U.S. Admiral Thomas Fargo's statement in November 2004
that 15 out of the 25 planned Balikatan exercises will be held in Mindanao.
Khadidja Moro Women
Secretary-General Evelyn Carias feared the bombings might have something
to do with the anti-U.S. troops stand of City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. She
expressed fears more bombings may happen to justify U.S. military presence
in Mindanao.
Hermaiin Arendain,
spokesperson of the Suara Bangsamoro Party, also expressed fears that
claims by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on the recent bombing, only fanned
speculations that these bombings could be sponsored no less by the state.
"We know who these Abu Sayyafs are and their links to the AFP," Arendain
quipped.
Deja vu?
Another bombing
spoiled the celebration of Valentine’s Day here. Interestingly, the
circumstances prior to the bombing and the succeeding events bore striking
resemblances of the past bombing incidents.
The first of the
three bombs which exploded within a few minutes of each other in three key
cities of the country (i.e., Davao City, General Santos City and Makati
City) last February 14 happened just a few meters from the gate of the
Davao City Overland Transport Terminal (DCOTT). The headquarters of the
elite security group Task Force Davao (TFD) is located just 500 meters
from where the bomb went off.
The bombing in Davao
claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy and caused injuries to six others.
Just like the Davao
airport bombing on March 4, 2003, police and military authorities appeared
to be well aware of destabilization threats. In fact, the mayor confirmed
that intelligence authorities knew of a bomb threat prior to the February
14 bombing.
A day before the
airport bombing two years ago, Gen. Narciso Abaya, then chief of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Command – the highest military
official in Mindanao – was here for
a meeting in connection with securing power transmission lines and other
vital installations.
Tight security
The February 14
incident also took place amid tight security just like the twin blasts at
the Davao airport and seaport two years ago. The police and military
officers were said to have been on red alert since.
Two weeks before the
2003 airport bombing, Mayor Duterte alerted authorities in Manila that
Davao
City would be the next target of terrorist
attacks. He even proposed to Malacañang that martial law be declared so
that arrests can be made immediately. But he said he was told to “keep
steady.”
Who failed?
Police and military
authorities seemed to have failed to avert the bombing given that for
almost two years now, residents in Davao
City have been subjected to
militarization. Task Force Davao (TFD) troops, in full battle gear, were
seen roving around the city streets, going inside the malls, bars and
churches.
TFD was set up
following the seaport bombing on April 4, 2003, and the consequent
declaration of Davao under "state of lawless violence" by President
Arroyo.
An elite security
force specializing in anti-terrorism operations, the TFD is composed of
Strike Forces, Marines, Rangers, police mobile units, paramilitary and
civilian agents deployed in Davao City "to combat terrorism, to detect and
ward of terrorists and lawless criminals and to bring back the sense of
peace and normalcy among terror-struck residents in the aftermath of the
twin bombings."
The TFD is also
authorized to conduct intelligence gathering to avert possible crimes and
prevent more bombings. They may also arrest anyone caught committing a
crime, having the primary tasks of joining also the police in running
after those who might have been responsible for the bombings.
The size of this unit
has peaked to 1,800 members. Similar groups were established in
neighboring towns like Tagum in Davao del Norte and cities like General
Santos and Marbel in Central Mindanao.
The usual
suspects
Just like in the
past, revolutionary groups Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and New
People's Army (NPA) are suspected by government to be behind the
Valentine’s Day bombing.
Based on cartographic
sketches, the authorities stressed that since the suspects look like
minors, they could be part of groups like the MILF and NPA that allegedly
have minors as combatants.
This was also the
case in the previous bombing incidents. Moments after the Davao airport
blast, Southern Command Spokesperson Col. Daniel Lucero's pronounced to
the media that the MILF and the NPA could be behind the incident.
In the past, the
military’s accusations resulted in several lightning raids of Moro
communities, countless illegal arrests, including torture, a spate of
abductions, grave threats and harassments allegedly perpetrated by task
force members.
Duterte had also
tagged the MILF as the mastermind of the Davao airport blast two days
after it occurred. However, in the recent bombing he was careful in
putting the blame on any group, saying that “it might not really be a fair
to do that.” Bulatlat
Related article
Moros Brace for
Abductions as Bomb Explodes Anew in Davao
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