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.