Philippines forms special task force to curb terrorism
Philippines forms special task force to curb terrorism
MANILA (AFP): The Philippine military has formed a special
anti-terrorist task force following growing concern over local
and foreign terrorist groups in the country, military spokesmen
said yesterday.
The announcement followed a call by President Fidel Ramos,
speaking on Armed Forces day, for security forces to crush
terrorism and at the same time achieve full reconciliation with
Moslem and communist insurgents.
The task force, to be made up of intelligence unit members,
will focus mainly on foreign terrorists but would also be
involved in the fight against local groups such as communist
assassins, spokesmen said.
Police this week detained nine Pakistanis on suspicion of
involvement with foreign terrorist groups planning attacks in
Manila.
Immigration Commissioner Leandro Verceles has urged Philippine
embassies to be more careful in issuing visas to foreigners, to
ensure that terrorists do not slip in.
"We must unite to confront ... the threats affecting the
nation's security especially the new terrorism that has spawned
senseless violence in some of our communities," Ramos said in a
speech for the 60th anniversary of the Philippine armed forces.
Fears over foreign terrorists heightened in January after
police raided a Manila apartment that was being used as a hideout
by foreign Moro fundamentalists.
Fundamentalists, including Ramzi Yussef, alleged mastermind of
the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, were suspected of planning
to kill Pope John Paul II during his Philippines visit in
January. They were also thought to be planning attacks on U.S.
airlines and foreign embassies.
Foreign terrorists are also charged with the mid-air bombing
of a Philippine Airlines plane in December that killed one
Japanese. The bombing is believed to have been a dry-run for
attacks on U.S. airlines.
Ramos, a former chief of the Philippine constabulary and a
career soldier, has faced mounting pressure over a wave of
violent crimes.
A prominent ethnic Chinese businessman, Leonardo Ty, his
driver, a Singaporean boy and a police bodyguard were killed last
week.
The killings were blamed on the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB),
the urban assassination team of the communist New People's Army.
The Philippine Inquirer reported yesterday that one of the
gunmen in Ty's killing had been detained by police. Police
spokesmen could not be contacted to comment.
"We must turn back the tide of criminality and must upgrade
our capability to repel challenges to our national security from
within and without," Ramos said.
He noted that "one crucial task" of government and military
was the "completion of the peace process" begun in 1992 with the
communist insurgents and Moslem secessionists in the south.
He admitted that peace with the communists was "still some
distance away" but noted they were "no longer a major threat to
our internal security."
The government reached a settlement with rightist coup
plotters in October and is continuing dialogue with the main
Moslem insurgents, the Moro National Liberation Front.
While he did not refer to claims to the Spratly islands in the
South China Sea, Ramos said that modernization of the poorly-
equipped Philippine military would proceed.
A US$5.4 billion armed forces modernization program was
ordered in February, following tensions between Manila and
Beijing over China's occupation of Philippine-claimed islands in
the Spratlys.
Ramos expressed hoped that by 1998 the military "can meet any
threat to national security."