Police closing in on suspects of deadly RP bombings
Police closing in on suspects of deadly RP bombings
MANILA (AFP): Philippine police said on Monday they were closing in on a group responsible for a wave of deadly bombings that left 14 people dead and nearly 100 wounded, as troops were asked to help boost security in the capital.
Leaders of the influential Catholic church joined authorities in appealing for calm and vigilance amid rumors of bomb discoveries reported to the police.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said investigators had developed a "good lead" on who was behind the attack on Saturday that shocked a country already reeling from a political crisis.
"We would like to encourage our people to remain calm, please do not panic. The PNP is on top of the situation and working overtime for the solution to these bombings," Bartolome told reporters.
"The only thing we can assure the people is that the PNP is pursuing very positive leads," he said.
He declined to give specific details, but said two suspects were in custody being questioned.
Armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jaime Canatoy insisted evidence gathered at the site pointed to Muslim insurgents as the likely perpetrators. He said traces were found of the chemical ammonium nitrate, which has been used by the rebels in bomb attacks in the south.
A series of explosions rocked Manila over two hours on Saturday, hitting a packed overhead rail station, a park near the U.S. embassy, an abandoned gasoline station near a five-star hotel, a cargo facility at the international airport and a passenger bus.
Security officials earlier pinned the attacks on a "tactical alliance" between the communist New People's Army (NPA) and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
"The traces of ammonium nitrate found (in the rail station) and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport bombings point to the MILF," Canatoy said.
President Joseph Estrada's camp and opposition leaders also accused each other of having a hand in the explosions, which came days before a Senate tribunal was to resume the president's corruption trial.
Police said Philippine troops would be drafted in to help boost security in the capital of 10 million people.
Officials said military personnel would be posted in key installations, including Manila's two overhead railway stations and financial centers beginning on Tuesday, when school and work resume after the long Christmas and New Year holidays.
Police nationwide were also put on heightened alert.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Maceda on Sunday said intelligence reports indicated the bombers could strike next in Manila's suburbs and at major plants near the capital.
National police spokesman Bartolome said preventative measures were now in place to close "gaps" in security.
But even as authorities scrambled to plug security holes, a homemade bomb, suspected to be the work of MILF rebels, was planted outside a school in Kabacan town in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato. No one was injured in the explosion which occurred on New Year's Eve.
Manila police commander Chief Superintendent Edgardo Aglipay said they had received more than a 100 calls from self-proclaimed "mad bombers" warning of imminent explosions.
He said bomb experts had been sent on wild goose chases across Manila because "we are taking all calls seriously, we do not want to take any chances."
Bishop Nestor Carino, spokesman for the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, urged the public to "remain calm yet vigilant" and appealed for all parties to refrain from spreading unnecessary rumors.