Palace rejects call for martial law in Basilan

Malacañang on Thursday thumbed down the proposal to put Basilan province in southern Philippines under martial rule following the series of bombings in the provincial capital last Tuesday that left more than a dozen people dead. "Remote naman. So far hindi pa naman comparable iyun nangyayari ngayon sa Basilan sa nangyari noon sa Maguindanao (What happened in Basilan cannot be compared to what happened in Maguindanao)," said deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared martial law in Maguindanao on Dec. 4 last year in connection with the massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists, allegedly by the powerful Ampatuan clan. It was lifted after eight days after the arrest of several of the suspects. "I don’t think it will come to that in Basilan," said Olivar. Bishop Martin Jumoad of Isabela City in Basilan made the call for martial rule in the province after three separate bombing incidents allegedly perpetrated by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf claimed 14 lives there. Monsignor Elmer Abacahin, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Office on Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC), said the attacks were acts of terrorism designed to sow fear on the people. Olivar said the National Security Council (NTC) is reviewing the situation in Basilan the best way it can. Cleared Also on Thursday, the military said it has cleared Isabela City of Abu Sayyaf members, and that life in the provincial capital is starting to return to normal. "The life in Isabela City is returning to normal. We have driven all Abu Sayyaf members from Isabela City," said Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, chief of the Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command, at a press briefing after a command conference in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. Pursuit operations, however, are continuing in the outskirts of Sta. Clara village in Lamitan City where about seven of the attackers were monitored. "This morning, the area of operation is already in Barangay Sta. Clara. The troops are pursuing a group of seven Abu Sayyaf members. They are part of the group that was involved in the incidents in Isabela last April 12," Dolorfino said. First Scout Ranger Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Noel Coballes said another Scout Ranger company – composed of more or less 100 soldiers – would be deployed to Basilan to help pursue the Abu Sayyaf. Poll-related Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza, who presided the command conference, said unspecified measures will be employed in Basilan to ensure that the coming elections in the province will not be hampered. Mendoza said authorities are looking into the possibility that politicians had something to do with the attacks, noting that Abu Sayyaf bandits have been known to carry out missions for a price. "They can be paid and we do not also discount possibility of some politics involved in this, but of course this is still subject to validation," Mendoza said. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV