In the Face of Danger

by Amante E. Bigornia
The Manila Times
October 2, 2001

The terrible shock suffered by Filipinos from the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon seems to have abated. The fear that they could be subjected to the same kind of horrendous experience as the Americans, if it ever occurred to Filipinos at all, never took hold.

This seeming complacency was confirmed by public reaction to the pronouncement of President Arroyo on Philippine support for the global war against international terrorism called by US President Bush, as shown by random surveys of the man on the street conducted on television news programs and threats of protest demonstrations from cause-oriented groups.

On the main, Metro Manilans were divided equally on the issue of total Philippine support for the war declared by Mrs. Arroyo, including the use of troops and the former American military facilities in the country, the Subic naval base in Zambales and the Clark airbase in Angeles City, Pampanga.

One side said it was time the terrorists were wiped out, including the Abu Sayyaf in the southern part of the country who have been wreaking havoc on the national economy with their kidnapping activities. The Abu Sayyaf are suspected of having ties with Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the New York and Washington bombings.

The other side, composed mostly of members of the so-called civil society, objected obviously on nationalist and anti-American grounds. They said that the Bush war would not succeed nor would it reduce the chances of future terrorist attacks like those on the symbols of American financial and military preeminence.

Both sides, as well as perhaps the rest of the nation, apparently are unaware of a very crucial circumstance—international terrorists have been and possibly are still operating from the Philippines. These do not include those who had been helping the Abu Sayyaf and the Muslim secessionist groups.

As early as a decade ago, international terrorists were already operating here. When Pope John II visited Manila, two terrorists came here to assassinate him. Fortunately, they failed to accomplish their dastardly plan, but were arrested and convicted for the first attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1993. They are now serving life sentences in American jails.

How they evaded Philippine authorities is no longer remembered. Neither are the other suspected terrorists, mostly from the Middle East, who had been questioned but later released or deported.

The alleged operations here of two hijackers involved in the attack on the WTC twin towers, Mohammed Atta and Marwan al Shehhi, could have likewise been forgotten, even escaped notice, but for the determination of certain sectors of the local news media.

These terrorists’ activities here were discovered when a household help of an official of the Clark Development Authority in Pampanga recognized Atta from among the pictures of suspects in the New York bombings published in Manila newspapers following the terrorist attacks.

She was convinced the picture was that of Atta because at the time he was a visitor of the Woodland Resort hotel in Barangay Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga in the summer of 1999, she serviced his room, being a chambermaid of the hotel. She told her current employer of her find and he in turn called a press conference to get it published. However, for some reason, the Manila newspapers gave the story no prominence and both the police and the town officials virtually ignored it.

But the broadcast media, led by the TV Patrol of ABS-CBN picked up the story the following day and the Philippine Star played it up on its front page yesterday even if it reported that the Armed Forces of the Philippines Northern Luzon Command, which has jurisdiction over Pampanga, downplayed any terrorist threat in the area.

The former resort chambermaid gave TV Patrol detailed descriptions of Atta and al Shehhi. Atta, she said, was short and stocky. He was brusque and treated Al Shehhi as a sidekick, she said.

Quite a number of “Arab-looking” persons patronized the Woodland Resort from 1997 to 1999, according to the former chambermaid. In fact, she said, most of the guests were Arabs, who were, curiously, always accompanied to the resort by another Arab-looking person son known only as Sameer who could speak Tagalog and was presumably a long-time resident of the place.

In the resort, there is a flying school using small planes owned by a British national. The Philippine Star reported Atta having gone to that school but its manager (the owner was away) earlier denied it. The former chambermaid reportedly claimed other Arabs took flying lessons in the out-of-the-way school.

Why the resort apparently escaped the suspicions of the authorities, especially the local police, is hard to imagine. It is located in a backwater place with no natural attractions to speak of, nor facilities that cannot be found in more accessible towns. It could be a rest and recreation area for Arabs wanting to enjoy weekends with Filipina girlfriends but even that should have aroused suspicions about their actual reasons for going to such a remote and forlorn resort.

Fortunately, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly been asking the Philippine government for help in tracking down the suspects in the Sept. 11 bombings. Perhaps they have gotten wind of the Woodland resort. The FBI intervention should prod our own officials, particularly those in the intelligence agencies, who are apparently sleeping on the job, to be vigilant or at least wake up.

Just as important, it should make the people lose their complacency and be more aware of the dangers to the nation posed by international terrorism.

© Copyright 2001

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