Philippines on alert, condemns Indonesian bomb blasts

Philippines on alert, condemns Indonesian bomb blasts

Agencies, Zamboanga/Manila

The Philippines on Sunday condemned as a terrorist act the bomb
attack that killed at least 182 people on the Indonesian island
resort of Bali and stepped up security at key installations.

"We condemn this despicable act of terrorism. This is really
brutal and right in the heartland of tourism in Indonesia,"
National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said.

Golez said he had been in touch with authorities in
neighboring Indonesia and had been assured that no Filipinos were
among the casualties, many of whom were foreign tourists.

Foreign Secretary Blas Ople ordered Philippine embassies
worldwide to take precautions following another Saturday's
bombing of Manila's consulate in the central Indonesian city of
Manado, North Sulawesi, about 2,160 kilometers (1,350 miles)
northeast of Jakarta. The bombing caused minor damage but no
injuries.

The Philippine foreign affairs department said the bomb was
hurled by unidentified men and landed just outside the Philippine
consulate gate. There were no apparent injuries, the department
said, but added Indonesian police "later reported finding traces
of blood at the scene and have thus alerted area hospitals
accordingly."

Indonesian officials said it was not immediately clear if the
attack on the Philippine consulate was related to the blasts in
Bali.

The attack was the second on Philippine property in Indonesia
in recent years. A car bomb exploded two years ago in front of
the Philippine ambassador's residence in the capital, Jakarta,
killing two people and injuring dozens, including Philippine
ambassador Leonides Caday.

The motive for the attack on the Philippine consulate is
unclear.

There has, however, been some recent tension between the two
countries. Hundreds of Indonesians have demanded the release of
an Indonesian citizen convicted in Manila for illegal explosives
possession.

Agus Dwikarna and two other Indonesian men were arrested March
14 as they arrived at Manila's international airport from Bangkok
for what they said was a business meeting.

The other two men were later released, but Philippine police
officials said Dwikarna was found carrying C-4 plastic explosive.
He was sentenced last July to up to 17 years in prison.

Philippine police have said Dwikarna was a member of the
Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asia-based group that is suspected
of links to al-Qaeda and allegedly planned to attack Western
targets in Singapore earlier this year.

Philippine intelligence agents also detained four Indonesians
in anti-terrorist raids in southern General Santos city last
month. Officials said one of the four allegedly helped plot bomb
attacks that killed 15 people in General Santos last April.

"We have to consider all possibilities here. We have to be
prepared," Golez said. "The (national police) has been instructed
already to make sure that we are on heightened alert."

Authorities should be wary about "copycat" attacks in the
Philippines, Golez said even as he did not dismiss the
possibility that the Bali attack could be a part of a larger
threat across the region.

President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said
Philippine consulates and embassies abroad were told to "observe
extra precautions to assure the safety of personnel."

Indonesian embassy spokesman Triyogo Jatmiko said on Sunday
the attack on the Philippine consulate was considered a terrorist
act aimed at discrediting his government.

Military southern command spokesman Lt. Col. Fredesvindo
Covarrubias said the intelligence community was on guard for
possible attacks by Abu Sayyaf Moro rebels, linked by Washington
and Manila to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

"We have doubled the security in the southern Philippines
because of recent attacks in Indonesia and the threats posed by
Abu Sayyaf rebels and other lawless groups," Covarrubias said.

Meanwhile, Philippine troops pounded Moro guerrilla positions
with bombs and cannon fire, killing 20 rebels, as fighting raged
for the second day on Sunday in the country's troubled south, the
military said.

The military launched the attack shortly after another
guerrilla group killed 11 soldiers and wounded 26 others in a
separate clash on Jolo island, off Mindanao.

The fighting on Mindanao and on nearby Jolo coincided with the
arrival of some 800 U.S. Marines have arrived in the Philippines
for two weeks of military exercises with their Filipino
counterparts on the main island of Luzon, officials said on
Sunday.