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Malacañang said on Thursday it is not contemplating the
declaration of emergency rule because of Tuesday’s blast
at the Batasan complex.
Chief
Presidential Counsel Sergio Apostol was reacting to the
call of Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay for Malacañang not to
exploit the Batasan blast to declare a state of
emergency in the country.
“There
is no basis for that, that’s just a product of Binay’s
fertile imagination,” Apostol said.
He noted
that the National Police finding so far is that the
attack was meant for only one person, Liberal Party Rep.
Wahab Akbar of Basilan and, as such, “there is no proof
it was intended to pose a bigger threat against the
government.”
“Any
fear of emergency rule is baseless,” Apostol said.
President Arroyo, meanwhile, ordered the Presidential
Legislative Liaison Office to identify possible
assassination targets in Congress to provide extra
security for them.
The
President enumerated government measures to ensure the
protection of lawmakers while addressing the 33rd
top-level management conference of the Kapisanan ng mga
Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) in Clark Free Port,
Pampanga, on Wednesday night.
“I have
instructed also the Presidential Legislative Liaison
Office to identify and secure possible assassination
targets in Congress. And we assure congressmen and
senators that measures are being taken to enable them to
continue their sessions in peace and security,” she
said.
The
President instructed Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno to
permanently assign bomb-sniffing dogs at the Batasan
complex and in the Senate to prevent another attack.
She said
the KBP should consider the identification of media
practitioners whose lives are in danger to ensure that
they, too, are protected.
Arroyo
also reiterated her call for Congress to pass the bill
that deems as a heinous crime the illegal possession of
explosives to deter its use.
The
National Police believes it can solve the bombing at the
House of Representatives once the owner of the
motorcycle used in the attack is identified.
The
Metro Manila police commander, Director Geary Barias,
said the owner of the motorcycle would be identified by
the bar code which investigators recovered from the
shattered pieces of the motorcycle.
He said
investigators have been trying to trace the bar code,
which could lead them to the owner of the motorcycle.
On
Tuesday, investigators managed to identify the
bomb-carrying motorcyle as a Honda 125 XRM through the
same bar code, although its license plate and motor and
chassis numbers were tampered with.
Barias
said the police would also ask the importer on the
details of the motorcycle.
“We will
determine who sold the part and to whom it was sold,” he
said.
Investigators said the explosion was aimed at Akbar.
Three
more victims died.
Barias
maintained the discovery of parts of the triggering
device, a cell phone, at the site indicates the bomber
was near the area at the time.
He said
trinitroluene or TNT was the chief explosive material
used in the bombing, and the explosive booster
pentaerythtritol trinitrate was used as detonator.
“Our
team from the NBI has established that the main charge
that was used in the blast was TNT. So, if that’s TNT,
it could have been dynamite sticks,” he said.
He said
TNT is used in quarrying, mining and illegal fishing.
Barias
said TNT has been used in some attacks in
Mindanao, one of which was the Malagutay bombing in 2002, where
a homemade bomb was also mounted on a motorcycle.
Speaker
Jose de Venecia Jr., meanwhile, ordered the creation of
a task force to spearhead a comprehensive review of the
security setup in the House.
The
House in plenary session confirmed on Wednesday de
Venecia’s recommendation to name Kabalikat ng Malayang
Pilipino Reps. Arthur Celeste of Pangasinan, chairman of
the committee on national defense; Rodolfo Antonino of
Nueva Ecija, chairman of the committee on public order
and safety; and independent Rep. Roilo Golez of
Parañaque to the task force.
“The
three-man panel will immediately sit down with the
Sergeant at Arms, retired general Bayani Fabic. They
will subsequently meet and coordinate with the Armed
Forces, the National Police and the National Security
Council on how we can review carefully the security
arrangement of the House of Representatives,” de Venecia
said.
De
Venecia said new security arrangements are in place. One
will limit access to the South Lounge to members, a move
which the Speaker said was a “little bit uncomfortable,
but necessary.”
Some
members pointed out the relatively lax security at the
main entrance to the Batasan complex which, according to
them, is way below the tighter measures being
implemented by malls in Metro Manila.
“There
was really a failure of security,” they said.
Not
wanting to be left behind on initial findings of the
police that Akbar was the real target, a militant
legislator said she and a party-list colleague are more
plausibly the targets in the blast.
And, as
if not satisfied with an earlier speculation that the
attack could be a diversionary tactic on current
political developments, party-list Rep. Liza Maza of
Gabriela redirected her ire at the National Police for
ruling out other angles by drawing conclusions according
to their working theory that Akbar was the target of the
blast, discounting other possibilities, including that
of Gabriela Women’s Party being the target of the
November 13 Congress bombing.
Apparently, Gabriela was not aware that Director General
Avelino Razon Jr., National Police chief, had repeatedly
stated that the theory that Akbar was the target, was
only among theories the police is looking into.
“The
sketch that has likewise come out in the media had
identified the van of [Party-list] Rep. Luz Ilagan [of
Gabriela], closer to the blast than that of
Representative Akbar’s. This should logically make her
and even Rep. Liza Maza as plausible target especially
since Representative Maza’s vehicle is almost identical
to that of Representative Ilagan’s,” Maza’s group said
in a statement. (With F. Marasigan) |
