GMA pushes anti-terror bill
By Marichu Villanueva
The Philippine Star 03/15/2002

President Arroyo will ask Congress to immediately pass an anti-terrorism law to bolster the war against terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said there is at present no law that could support the government’s campaign against local and foreign terrorists.

In a statement from Bangkok, Thailand, Golez said Malacañang is considering the anti-terrorism bills filed by Senators Robert Barbers, Panfilo Lacson and Rodolfo Biazon, and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos.

"We will therefore study and generally support the anti-terrorism bills now pending in the Senate and House," he said.

Golez is in Bangkok as the head of the Philippine delegation to a US-sponsored conference on anti-terrorism.

The Philippines is reeling from a series of high-profile kidnappings undertaken in the last two years by the Abu Sayyaf, which is still holding a Filipino nurse and an American missionary couple hostage in the jungles of Basilan. The Muslim rebel group is believed to have links with al-Qaeda, the international network of Osama bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Golez said most countries participating in the conference have had laws against terrorism passed by their legislative assemblies.

Attending the conference were counter-terrorism experts from the US, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Brunei, Cambodia and Thailand, he added.

During the conference, Golez said US President George Bush "singled out" the Philippine campaign against terrorism in a speech marking the sixth month of last year’s terrorist attack on New York City and Washington DC.

"President Bush gave special mention to President Arroyo’s courageous and brave stand against international terrorism, the only world leader mentioned by name in the Bush speech," he said.

Bush cited Mrs. Arroyo’s leadership in the fight against international terrorism among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he added.

Golez said the US Department of Justice had asked him to give a "special briefing" on Mrs. Arroyo’s 14-point counter-terrorism program because it is a "dynamic and comprehensive" model for other countries.

Golez said the following were discussed at the conference:

• An overview of terrorist organizations.
• Regional efforts in countering terrorism.
• Preventive and preparatory measures for terrorist attacks.
• Role of immigration and customs in the fight against terrorism.
• Gathering and sharing of intelligence.
• Exploitation of global financial institutions.

With Golez in Bangkok are Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on public order, and Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo.

Earlier, Mrs. Arroyo said she was confident the Armed Forces can "annihilate" the Abu Sayyaf and rescue American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap.

Mrs. Arroyo said Filipino soldiers have extensive experience in quelling armed uprisings in Western Mindanao and all they needed were additional equipment and training.

About 160 US Special Forces are in Basilan and they could enter combat zones to observe Filipino troops. They are allowed to fire back in self defense.

Last month, Indonesian police investigators arrived in the country to question suspected terrorist Fathur Rohman al Ghozi at Camp Crame in Quezon City to determine his links with Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda international terrorist network.

Fathur is believed to be an Indonesian citizen but when he was arrested in Quiapo, Manila two weeks earlier, police seized from him a birth certificate identifying him as a Filipino, and three different Philippine passports.

Police believe Fathur, who belongs to a group known as Jemaah Islamiya, is using fake documents to conceal his true identity.

The PNP has asked Indonesian police to send Camp Crame a copy of Fathur’s birth certificate and several documents pertaining to Jemaah Islamiya.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Leandro Mendoza has ordered intelligence director Chief Superintendent Roberto Delfin to find out how Fathur was able to get a birth certificate in the Philippines.

A senior police official told The STAR efficient exchange of information between the PNP and the police forces of Indonesia and Singapore have led to more information linking Jemaah Islamiya with Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda.

"We know from information gathered that Jemaah Islamiya is one of the cells of al-Qaeda but we want to establish evidence that would further support that information," the police official said.

Based on information from Singapore police, the PNP disclosed yesterday that Fathur was associated with Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, an Indonesian Muslim cleric who founded Jemaah Islamiya.

Fathur was arrested after 13 suspected terrorists linked to al-Qaeda were detained in Singapore on suspicion of plotting to blow up a busload of American sailors and bomb the embassies of Australia, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States.

Fathur, the operations officer of Jemaah Islamiya, was said to be responsible for setting up terrorist cells in Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, Police officials added.

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