Davao's Blast: A Work Of Terror?

By Author: Arnold Alderite
Total Articles: 4
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This article gives some speculations on the recent bombing in Davao City. It also details the activities conducted by the City government of Davao and the reactions the blast caused.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte angrily remarked that he could not promise to restore back the peace the city once kept. He claimed however that it would be a hell for the criminal elements and perpetrators. He appears sure in his allegation that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) group, a Muslim secessionist movement operating in Mindanao, perpetrated the bombing. The police authorities in Davao City have detained several individuals for questioning while formally lodging a case to Hashim Salamat and other key officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Duterte even proclaimed an all-out war to the group. After the blast, he urged Philippine key officials like Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Interior Secretary Jose Lina and national police chief Hermogenes Ebdane to cease talks with the MILF and impose martial law in the south. Because of the bombing incident, Duterte is encouraging authorities to conduct warrantless ...
... arrest on the MILF suspects in Davao City. Before this call was made, the Crimininal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) detained Terso Sudang, the father of the alleged bomber, and Kabacan, Cotabato Barangay Captain Muntazer Sudang for questioning. They were later charged along with Salamat and other key leaders of the MILF. Duterte saw this as lawful and even called on his critics for a debate on this issue. He feels confident that having served the Prosecution office for 11 years has given him the wisdom on this issue. This would allow them to arrest even the leaders of the MILF if they step on the Davao territory. They knew Duterte is sincere in this gesture. This made them to move out of their stations to a much safer place. Why in Davao? Dabawenyos dismissed the claim of the Abu Sayyaf to be responsible for the bombing. Not only the Mayor is pointing finger at the MILF but also the Dabawenyos. It is interesting to note that the event happened after Mayor Duterte and the MILF group made an agreement to spare Davao City from its all-out war against the government of Arroyo. The families of Salamat reside in Davao too. Salamat also frequents Davao and it is Duterte who even personally have entertained him during his stays in the city. The decade of peace in Davao City was definitely a result of the "iron" fist of Duterte. He personally sends criminals to jail. He is best known as the "Dirty Harry" or the "Executioner" of Davao. His critics always identify him to be the "brain" behind the series of assassinations of drug pushers (even including minors) and criminal syndicates roaming in the city. While he earned the respects of the lumads (natives), Christians and Muslims in Davao City, criminals mostly feared him. Duterte was seen as a good balancer. He knows how to position himself in the limelight while answering the bickering of his critics. Both Christians and Muslims alike love him. But like other heroes he also has an Achilles heel. Duterte is identified with the Arroyo administration. The President is an admirer of the mayor who did manage to root out the drug and criminality problems of the City. This was further known when the President requested invited to become the secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). At the same time, both Arroyo and Duterte are under the same political party, Lakas-NUCD. In a crisis "crisis manager." Days before the incident, Duterte had premonitions something bad would happen to Davao. He admitted that there is no foolproof security against terrorism especially the wide area of Davao. He was not wrong when he claimed that a determined, well-organized and well-funded terrorist group can bide its time, pick its target and strike when and where least expected. Duterte now faces another crucial problem in the city. He became more vocal in his allegations that MILF was behind the blast. Aside from the fact that one of those killed in the blast was Sudang who apparently joined the MILF at age of 16 and has connections with a certain Jibran Ali Bin Davao, the head of the Davao-area MILF Unit. Also, the pipe bomb used by Sudang is a forte of the MILF. The group's members were also believed to be staging series of bombings to the power lines in Iligan prior to the blast in retaliation to the death of more than 200 MILF soldiers when the government stormed a camp they occupied in Cotabato. The government believed that the camp has also been utilized as a training camp for bandit groups. Duterte personally directed the authorities to file multiple charges against Salamat and the rest of the suspects. He called on Salamat who are believed to be in hiding to give in the planners and that he could personally execute them if Salamat could not do so. At the same time, more Dabawenyos heed to the call of the government for alsa (uprising). More than a decade ago, the same concept became prevalent in Davao. It was basically the civil society's uprising and taking of arms against the "sparrows" (communist guerillas). Although it brought forth a new era of human rights violations issues, the movement became phenomenal. It contributed to the relative peace enjoyed by the Dabawenyos. This particular move by the city government carries a lot of implications for Muslim residents in Davao City. A growing speculation looms again in Davao that the movement would create more militants and vigilante groups. If the Alsa Masa is for the guerillas, there is even a greater tension that it would be perpetrated against Muslim individuals. All of the members of the MILF are Moslems. In this case, there could be a tendency for anarchy and civil unrest in Davao City if this happens. There is a danger of a renewed animosity between Christians and Muslims in the City. The local government assured that the bannersEand call for uprising mainly suggest the collective response to the bombing at the Davao international Airport. Mayor Duterte also made an assurance that he would protect the innocent Muslims just as he protects innocent Christians.E There are many speculations that surround the bombing incident in Davao. The first assumption is that the act is part of the retaliatory acts by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the recent deployment of American forces in Basilan. This is one of the things the group feared since it would eventually strengthen the military capabilities of the Philippine government. The group has been vocal strongly condemned the intervention made by the United States, more so with the sending of its troops in the region. It could be noted that the identification of Philippine government with the United States created the caution among the Moslems in Mindanao. This is aside from the fact that the Philippine government entered into an agreement with Australia in order to solve the terrorism problems in the region. One idea traces back to the group's objective shifting from "negotiating" to "destabilizing" and "humiliating" the Arroyo government. The group has been a witness to what happened to the Moro National Liberation Front (MLF). It views earlier efforts by the previous group to be useless especially when it just ended up MNLF's key leader, Nur Misuari, to be charged with corruption and mismanagement of government funds. This time they become paranoid to any government negotiations. Some analysts consider the blast to be a mere reflection of the restlessness of the group to be fatalistic in its attitude that the only way to solve the problem is to sow pockets of terror. It is a result of the never-ending anxiety of the minorities triggered by the mindset of "Islamism," which allegedly utilize the use of force as way of life and religion and even achieving the promise heaven. Endnotes Ben Tesiorna, "Duterte Dares MILF to Prove Innocence." Sunstar. March 10, 2003. Online. Available. 03/10/03/ Alsa Dabaw, The Need of An Hour, "SunStar Davao," March 10, 2003. Online. Available. 3/10/03 Read an article by Ben Tesiorna, "MILF Denies Hand in Airport Bombing," SunStar Davao. March 10, 2003. Online. Available. 03/10/03/ Read, for example, the explanation made by Atty. Wender Avisado. Alsa Dabaw Not Alsa Masa, SunStar Davao, March 10, 2003. Online. Available. 03/10/03. "Rody Not Bothered By Death Threats," SunStar Davao, March 10, 2003. Online. Available. 03/10/03. Critics Dared to Debate on Warrantless Arrest,"SunStar Davao, March 10, 2003. Online. Available. 03/10/03. John Dave D. Vergara, "MILF Leaders Gone Into Hiding," SunStar. March 9, 2003. Online. Available. 03/10/03. "US Warns Against U.S. Citizens To Use Caution in the Philippines," CNN. March 7, 2003. Online. Available. 03/10/03. About the Author Currently a Monbukagakusho (Japanese government) scholar; about to finish his second masters degree in International Relations (IR) in Japan. His first masters degree program was on public administration (MPA) focusing on the area of Social Capital Formation of the Families of Overseas Filipino Workers. He hopes to achieve a greater understanding on international labor migration in particular, taking into consideration an assessment of Philippine Labor Migration. His current thesis is on the socio-economic security of Overseas Filipina workers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan and Singapore. His current courses in the International University of Japan (IUJ) prompted him to have a better understanding and perspective on the diverse issues in the field of peace, security, and international relations.