NAIA bomb attempt not a serious cause for concern —Palace

By ANDREO CALONZO, GMA News

Published September 2, 2014 3:17pm

The foiled attempt to smuggle explosives into the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is not a serious cause for concern for the government, Malacañang said Tuesday.

At a press briefing, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said President Benigno Aquino III was confident that the administration could forestall or impede any future attempt that may threaten the stability and peace and order of our land.”

“Ang nais lang nating sabihin sa kasalukuyan ay wala namang malubhang ligalig na dapat umiral dahil sa insidenteng iyan. Sa pagkawari ng ating Pangulo at ng pamahalaan, nasabat naman ang anumang panganib na maaring dulot ng pangkat na ito,” Coloma told reporters.

The Palace official said that the explosives recovered from the suspects were not car bombs but were materials of "far lesser import or gravity." He added that the suspects' supposed manifesto was “not even finalized."

On Monday, NAIA was placed on full alert after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) intercepted a group supposedly trying to bring improvised explosives into the country’s main international airport.

The three suspects in the bombing attempt, who are facing charges for illegal possession of explosives, supposedly wanted to call for the Philippine government’s tougher stance in its territorial dispute against China.

The suspects’ lawyer, Oliver Lozano, however claimed that the bombing attempt was meant to create an “atmosphere of terror as basis to declare martial law” that will pave the way for Charter change and Aquino’s term extension.

Coloma labeled Lozano's claim as "baseless."

According to the National Bureau of Investigation, the improvised incendiary device found at NAIA-3 was to be placed inside the toilet at the parking area, while the other three were going to be placed at the SM Mall of Asia.

The group was also reportedly planning to strafe the Chinese Embassy and the DM Consunji, Inc. building, both in Makati City.

Note verbale

The government is preparing an explanation for the Chinese government regarding the foiled bombing attacks by a group supposedly claiming for a tougher stance against China's incursions into Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said they were drafting a note verbale or diplomatic note to the Chinese embassy in Manila to explain the incident.

“We need to assure them that this is not an official government policy and that we do not use violence as a means of resolving the disputes,” Jose said.

The note, Jose said, would “officially inform” the Chinese Embassy in Manila of the findings of the investigation of Philippine authorities.

“If they receive an official government report, they can report it back to Beijing,” Jose said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila asked the Philippine government to “conduct thorough investigations into this case.”

“We hope and believe the Philippines side will take effective measures to ensure the security of the Chinese Embassy and its staff as well as all Chinese nationals residing in the Philippines,” an embassy statement said.

“According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the host country is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of diplomatic missions against any intrusion or damage, and prevent any attack on diplomatic staff,” it added.

Not ruling out destabilization angle

Malacañang is not ruling out the possibility that the foiled bombing attempt was part of a destabilization plot against the Aquino administration.

Coloma said the Department of Justice will consult with "other elements of the intelligence community" to determine if the group behind the airport incident was plotting to overthrow the Aquino government.

"Masusing pinag-aaralan ang maaaring maging implikasyon ng naganap... na maaaring maging konklusyon natin dahil dito sa nadiskubreng pagtatangka kahapon," Coloma told reporters.

He also maintained that the government was not taken by surprise by the bombing attempt, since intelligence officials had been tracking the movements of the suspects even before they tried to enter the NAIA complex.

“Timely naman ang pag-uulat sa Pangulo. Ayon naman sa ating intelligence community, meron din silang background information sa grupong nasabat ng NBI. Itong partikular na grupo na ito ay hindi naman ito out-of-the-radar. Sinusubaybayan na sila at mayroon nang existing information bago sila nasabat,” the Palace official said.

Two months ago, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV floated a possible plot to overthrow the Aquino administration, supposedly orchestrated by retired military officials. Malacañang and the Armed Forces however downplayed the supposed destabilization plot. —KG/NB, GMA News

Tags: ninoyaquinointernationalairport, naiasecurity