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.