The modus operandi in last week's Valentine's Day bombings were similar to the 2000 Rizal Day bombings and the attack on the SuperFerry 14 in February last year, police said. Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Edgar Aglipay said the bombings were all triggered by cellular phones — also the method employed in the bombing of a bus in Balintawak, Quezon City in October 2002 that left two passengers dead and several others wounded. "The bombs used were similar to other bombings (such) as the Rizal Day attacks, the bus bombing in Balintawak, the WG&A SuperFerry 14 attacks and the recent bomb incidents in Mindanao," Aglipay told The STAR yesterday.Aglipay, however, refused to identify who could be behind the attacks pending the arrest and indictment of the culprits. The PNP chief made the statement as forensic experts of the Australian Federal Police wrapped up their investigation of the Feb. 14 bombings in the cities of General Santos, Davao and Makati that left 13 people dead and 140 wounded.
The Australian Federal Police confirmed the findings of local forensic experts that the explosives used in the Valentine's Day bombings were all triggered by cellular phones. Aglipay earlier said the PNP would coordinate further with the Australian police to determine if the Feb. 14 bombings were carried out in the same manner as the nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia in October 2002 that left over 200 people dead, and the Marriott Hotel bombing, also in Indonesia, in 2004. Both attacks have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group.
Aglipay said the Australian forensics experts noted the bomb used in the Davao incident was fashioned out of a mortar shell while the explosive used in the Makati blast was placed inside a bag. While police authorities have pinpointed three suspects in the bombing, Aglipay stressed they are still in the process of completing their material evidence and investigation to build an air-tight case. "Having confirmed these (findings), we are preparing for the filing of charges," he said.
On several occasions, the government tried to downplay the possibility of the involvement of the Abu Sayyaf, but police investigators, in one instance, ended up linking the bandit group in the sinking of the SuperFerry 14 last year with the arrest of several suspects. Hours after the three explosions took place last Valentine's Day, self-appointed Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman spoke over the radio and claimed the bombings were their "love gift" to President Arroyo.
Although Aglipay refused to identify the Abu Sayyaf behind the bombings, crack police and intelligence operatives are already closing in on one of the suspected bombers, a ranking police official told The STAR. The official claimed their target is a former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) guerrilla who joined the Abu Sayyaf. Top police officials have not ruled out that the Abu Sayyaf, MNLF renegades and some radical members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) may have formed a new terror alliance.
The Valentine's Day bombings came amid the hostilities between government forces and armed loyalists of ousted MNLF chairman Nur Misuari in Jolo, Sulu. Misuari is under detention at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna facing rebellion charges.
In a related development, a Muslim group tagged in the attempt to bomb the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila last month issued a statement condemning the Valentine's Day bombings. Yusof Ledesma, spokesman for the Balik Islam Unity Congress, said innocent civilians should be spared from any bombing attempts. "We should outright condemn the bombing of civilians. It is not right to collectively target civilians. I don't know who did it or even indeed the Abu Sayyaf did it, but it is wrong to target civilians," Yusof said during a roundtable discussion with different religious leaders, student groups and non-government organizations (NGO) representatives at the Peacemaker's Circle last Friday. Ledesma also deplored the reported plan of including him in the "terror" watchlist on claims that he was one of financiers of local extremist groups in the country. Ledesma said the conflict between Muslim and Christians cannot be solved unless irresponsible police officers continue to label honest and good-intentioned Islam practitioners as terrorists.