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.