NCRPO assures diplomats: RP still safe despite Batasan blast

(Updated 1:31 p.m.) The Philippine National Police (PNP) assured members of the diplomatic corps that the security situation in the country remains stable following Tuesday's blast at the Batasan Pambansa that left at least four people dead. Police Dir. Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Police Region Office (NCRPO), personally briefed diplomats behind closed doors at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Pasay City. Foreign Affairs spokesman Claro Cristobal described the security briefing as a "standard" gathering and did not mean that there was cause for foreign governments to be alarmed. Interviewed after the meeting, Barias told QTV Balitanghali that he assured the foreign officials that there was nothing to fear in the aftermath of the Batasan blast. He relayed that the target in last Tuesday's incident was likely one person only, deceased Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar. "I don't think the evidence will lie," Barias said, adding that the police investigation thus far showed that the terror angle was becoming less likely. He added in Filipino that, "These are physical evidence that we gathered from the blast site which could give us clues or the story behind the motives of that blast." Barias's statement comes amid a warning from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that it was still "premature" to conclude that Akbar was the lone target. Romulo Asis, chief of the NBI Anti-Terrorism Division, earlier said the device used in the blast appeared to be of the antivehicle type. He said it could have been a "coincidence" that Akbar – a reported founding member of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group – was there at the Batasan south wing when the incident occurred. The QTV report said Barias provided details about the police investigation and how the government has responded to the incident. "I think it was highly informative and useful and we got reassured that we should not be concerned about the security situation," Herbert Jager, Austria ambassador to Manila. For his part, Colin Wynn Crorkin, deputy head of mission for the British Embassy, said that, "I think they (PNP probers) are perfectly capable of investigating the matter themselves ... we'll get further updates from the PNP and we'll await any other further statement." President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Wednesday made a public appeal not to speculate about the explosion, saying these could lead to baseless accusations and cast fears on the business community. The police has placed the casualty count at four killed and 12 injured. In a separate radio interview, Barias said investigators are now trying to trace a bar code found on a component of the motorcycle believed used in the bombing. Barias told dzEC radio his men are now tracing the store where the part was bought to determine who may have owned the motorcycle containing the bomb. "Hopefully we can find who sold the part and to whom it was sold," Barias said. He added that the discovery of cellphone components at the blast site indicate that the perpetrator could have triggered the bomb from a nearby area. He also cited initial findings indicating traces of TNT and a booster chemical were found at the blast site. He said the booster is a controlled item usually used in mining. - GMANews.TV