President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday, August 8, said
government is eyeing 3 groups behind the spate of attacks in central and
northern Mindanao .
"Basically, there are threat groups that have joined
together because maybe, to a large degree, their individual capacities have
decreased. These 3 groups we're looking at were not as strong but they seem to
have come together or are exerting serious effort because they are quite
desperate to stop the peace process here in Mindanao," Aquino told
reporters on the sidelines of a business summit in Davao City .
The President didn't elaborate, although three groups
operating in the Mindanao have worked against
the peace process: a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF), the Abu Sayyaf and remnants of the group once known as Jemaah Islamiyah
(JI).
JI's leaders in the Philippines
are the two most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia -
Malaysian Marwan and Singaporean Muawiyah. Marwan is an alias used by Zulkifli
bin Hir; Muawiyah is the pseudonym of Mohammed Ali. They were the targets of the first joint US-Philippine smart bomb attack in Sulu on
February 2, 2012. That attack killed a key Abu Sayyaf leader, but the two foreigners escaped to central Mindanao and found
sanctuary in territory controlled by the BIFF.
Aquino also shared a theory the government is looking at to
explain the recent violence in the region.
"We're looking at all possible angles. Among them,
there was an encounter recently between the BIFF (Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters)
and the Armed Forces and there is a theory that all of these bombings are
related to that to lessen the pressure of ongoing follow-up operations against
these BIFF elements that attacked North Cotabato ,"
he said.
In a speech earlier that day, Aquino vowed to fight back.
"Make no mistake about it: This is a desperate act by a
small sector dead set against the attainment of peace in Mindanao ,"
he said.
"For a long time, we have been working to neutralize
these elements; and this is a fight in which we have had quite a few
successes," he added. "And so our continuing message is this: To
those willing to partner with us for peace, we welcome you as brothers; but to
those who want to challenge the authority of the State, you will feel the full
brunt, depth, and might of the State’s response. You will not get in the way of
the peace and the stability that will help fulfill the potential of Mindanao ."
On Thursday morning, one soldier was
killed while 4 others were wounded in a dawn encounter in Albarka, Basilan.
On Wednesday, 3 bombs exploded in different areas in
Maguindanao and North Cotabato . One of the
attacks, a roadside bomb, wounded 7 Army
soldiers.
Various angles
In a radio interview, Defense Secertary Voltaire Gazmin said
the military doesn't have any information that could link the attacks to the
global Al Qaeda threats raised by Western governments this week.
"We do not see a connection. But we are not ruling out
that information. We are studying it carefully," he said in a radio
interview.
"We are looking at various angles. One is terrorism.
Second, this may be political or personal. We're also looking at bombers for
hire and bombers for sale. We are looking at all these angles. We don't have a
conclusive report yet," Gazmin said.
He called on Filipinos to stay vigilant. "This is not
just the job of the police. It's not just the problem of our soldiers. This is
a problem of all Filipinos. We all have to work together to deter these
terroristic acts."
Aquino acknowledged that despite the peace process between
the government and the MILF "challenges to our stability…exist." He
cited the July 26 blast in Cagayan de Oro City that killed 8 people.
The government and the
MILF in July signed a crucial annex on wealth sharing in talks in Kuala Lumpur . Both sides
expect to hammer out a final agreement before the end of the year.
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway
group of the MILF, claimed responsibility for the Maguindanao roadside bombing.
Military intelligence said that the ASG and some MILF units
have joined forces in Al-Barka, Basilan.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/35939-aquino-groups-behind-blasts
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