DND to public: Osama may be dead but don't put guard down

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Tuesday reminded the public not to put their guard down even if the world's most-wanted international terrorist Osama bin Laden has already been slain in Pakistan by United States troops. "While we celebrate with the rest of the freedom loving world on this occasion, we caution our citizenry that this is not the time to put our guard down but a time for more vigilance and alertness in seeing to it that the spectre of terrorism does not creep back into our national territory," Gazmin said in a statement. Gazmin assured the public that the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is under the DND, will remain "steadfast in its commitment and resolve to ensure the safety and security of all Filipinos." On Sunday night (Monday in Manila), US President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, was killed in a US-led military operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden was the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York that killed almost 3,000 people. Since then, the US had been engaged in operations against bin Laden. Major victory "This development (death of bin Laden) is a major victory for all advocates of democracy and freedom and a triumph for peace loving citizens all over the world. It is a giant step in the campaign against global terrorism," Gazmin said. He said he believed that bin Laden's death has finally ended the "long quest for justice" of the victims of the September 11 attack. Bin Laden is also blamed for several failed attempts to kill then Pope, now Blessed John Paul II. The DND chief likewise expressed hopes that the terrorist leader's death would break the link between his group and the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah. The Abu Sayyaf, blamed for several abductions and attacks in southern Philippines, is said to be linked to the al-Qaeda network. "The demise of the principal patron of terrorism and the isolation of these terrorists will subsequently bring about their decimation and total elimination," Gazmin said, referring to the Abu Sayyaf. — Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News