Ramos declares war on terrorists

Ramos declares war on terrorists

MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Fidel Ramos yesterday
declared war against terrorists, a day after four people,
including a Singaporean boy and a prominent ethnic Chinese
businessman, were ambushed and killed.

Ramos vowed the attackers would "pay for these crimes," which
sent shockwaves throughout the capital, with the Philippine
business community warning that the bloodshed could undermine the
country's economic turnaround.

Killed in separate ambushes on Monday were tycoon Leonardo Ty,
81, and his Filipino driver as well as Jerry Tai, 5, the son of a
Singaporean couple, and a police bodyguard.

Another ethnic Chinese business executive, Benjamin Yu, was
seriously wounded in a third ambush.

Tai's mother, Linda, is in critical condition and four other
companions were also wounded, a citizens' anti-crime group said.

The attack on Ty, 82, was claimed in a telephone call to a
radio station by the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), the urban hit
squad of the Communist Party of the Philippines, waging a 26-year
insurgency.

In all three ambushes, groups of men armed with pistols
surrounded the vehicles carrying their victims and fired on them
before fleeing. This is the trademark of the ABB who killed over
a hundred police, soldiers and civilians in Manila in the early-
1980s.

"Apparently this signals a declaration of war by terrorists,"
Ramos said in a special news conference, called after he met
officers of the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The
business group voiced indignation over the killings.

"We are intensifying also our war against the ABB because they
have made the people the victims of their war. And if they claim
responsibility for this, we are going to make sure that they as a
group or as individuals pay for these crimes," Ramos added.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the
country's largest business group, condemned the violence and
warned it "may cause ripples that could undermine all efforts to
promote the Philippines as an investment and tourism
destination."

It said that "this ... should reinforce the government
determination to maintain peace and order in the country."

"If our own citizens are getting more and more demoralized and
disillusioned, no amount of enticements and incentives will
encourage people to come here and risk their lives," the private
Citizens Action Against Crime, which is supported by Chinese
civic groups, said in a statement.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index was also jolted
by the Ty ambush, dropping 1.4 percent yesterday, analysts and
traders said.

Ramos's government has been severely criticized in recent
months for its failure to stop a spate of violent crimes such as
kidnappings and bank robberies which often occur in broad
daylight.

The ethnic Chinese community has been the target of many of
these crimes because they are considered wealthy and are often
reluctant to report the incidents.