SEN. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday urged authorities to tighten the security of transport hubs, malls and other areas where large numbers of people converge in connection with the 15th anniversary of the tragic Rizal Day bombings perpetrated by Muslim extremists.
Marcos aired this call as he reminded the public that the terrorist group Jema’ah Islamiyah has killed 22 and wounded over a hundred other individuals during their bombing campaign.
He noted that a few days ago the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Abu Sayyaf launched separate attacks against the military forces in Mindanao.
“While these attacks seem to be largely directed against the military forces, we must not be complacent. We must not allow the bombings that occurred 15 years ago to happen again,” Marcos said.
On December 30, 2000, five separate explosions rocked Metro Manila: in Plaza Ferguson in Malate, Manila; in a gasoline station in Makati City; in a bus in Cubao; in a cargo-handling station at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport; and in a light-rail transist coach at the Blumentritt Station, which caused the most number of casualties.
Marcos also cited reports that the BIFF claimed its recent attacks were inspired by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which were behind the November terror attacks in Paris that left 129 dead and over 350 people wounded.
Likewise, Marcos pointed out that Malaysian and Indonesian terrorists have linked with Muslim extremists and that a Malaysian bomb expert was killed in an encounter between the Abu Sayyaf and the military in Basilan on December 15.
“We must not allow extremism in any ground to grow,” asserted Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government and sponsor of the Basic Law for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBar) meant to embody the peace pact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
With the BLBar passage uncertain in the few remaining session days of Congress, Marcos said efforts to find peace in Muslim Mindanao should not and never be abandoned.
