MANILA, Philippines - An extortion group responsible in numerous bombings in Mindanao could be responsible for the Makati bus blast that left 5 people dead and 13 others injured, a ranking police official said Wednesday.
Director Nicanor Bartolome, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, said that the Al Khobar extortion group's possible involvement in the Makati City bombing came up after police bomb disposal teams finished reconstructing the improvised explosive device that exploded inside the Newman Goldline bus.
Bartolome said that the bomb was made of an 81mm mortar and it was triggered by a cellphone.
Chief Superintendent Arne delos Santos, chief of the police's special investigation task force, said that the 81mm mortar was attached to a Nokia 5310 model.
"Sa Mindanao, bus companies din ang kanilang target. May isang grupo doon, ang Al Khobar at doon naman extortion iyong ginagamit nilang pamamaraan doon (In Mindanao, they also target bus companies. There is one group there, the Al Khobar, which is engaged in extortion)," Bartolome told ABS-CBN's morning show, "Umagang Kay Ganda" (UKG).
The NCRPO chief, however, clarified that Al Khobar is only one of the many groups being considered as responsible in the latest bus bombing in Makati City.
Extortionists in Metro Manila
Former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said that based on the style of the bombing, an extortion group is more likely responsible in the attack.
Gonzales said that the extortion group, possibly the Al Khobar group, may be sending a message to authorities that they have breached Metro Manila.
He said police should meet with all bus company owners in Metro Manila and ask if they have been receiving extortion letters recently.
"Itong tinamaan na bus ay hindi ko alam kung tinarget talaga iyan o random lang ang pagkakapili diyan. Baka nagpaparating ang mga extortionist sa Mindanao na nakarating na sila sa Metro Manila (The bus that was hit could have been really a target or was randomly picked. Extortionists in Mindanao may be sending a message that they are already here in Metro Manila)," Gonzales said.
He said that when he was still the national security adviser, the Abu Sayyaf is the only group who has knowledge in bomb-making.
He said that before he left the office, they received intelligence reports that the local terror group has been passing its bomb-making knowledge to the communist group New People's Army and several extortion groups in Mindanao.
Other possible motives
Bartolome said explosive and ordnance operatives of the police were trying to study the bomb's signature to pinpoint the group behind the bombing.
He added that aside from extortion, they are also looking at other possible motives in the attack. He said that the angle of destabilization is becoming remote.
There were suspicions that the attack could have been carried out by groups out to destabilize the administration of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.
In a separate UKG interview, Interior and Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo said that authorities are looking at the possibility that the bus blast in Makati is a diversionary tactic of the people behind carjacking syndicates.
Robredo said that they are investigating at least 7 active and retired enforcement officials that may be involved in carjacking syndidates in Luzon.
He also supported doubts on the timing of the bus blast since it was carried out during the 78th birthday of the late President Corazon Aquino.
Robredo said that the police would be having a hard time pinpointing the group behind the blast in Makati City until the persons who planted the bomb in the Newman Goldline bus are identified and arrested.
He said police are carefully reviewing all closed-circuit television cameras installed along the route of the bus.
The Quezon City-bound bus came from Baclaran. Its driver and conductor said they had 20 passengers when they left the terminal and more passengers entered the bus at Taft area in Pasay City.
More passengers entered the bus at Evangelista area and majority of them got off along EDSA corner Ayala Avenue in Makati City.
The bomb went off at past 2 p.m. while the bus was at the north-bound loading bay at EDSA corner Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia).
Bartolome said that they were still trying to identify the people who got off the bus before the bomb went off.
Posted: 2:59 PM 01/26/2011
