MANILA, Philippines - Recent bombings incidents are not confined to our country alone, and are generally linked to Jihadist radicals who do not follow the sacred Koran of Islam. The most infamous of the atrocities against mankind was the attack against the World Trade Center in New York, United States. Years ago, during the Reagan presidency, a lone suicide bomber in Beirut, Lebanon, rammed a truck full of explosives into a building that was the barracks of US Marines. About 254 died, including 58 French Foreign Legionnaires. This bombing was attributed to the Hezbollah. Sometime thereafter, a group tried to exact revenge on Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Hezbollah's spiritual leader, by exploding a bomb where he was supposed to be. Unfortunately he wasn't around, so he survived until his recent death from natural causes. However 90 human beings died in that bombing incident.
In Russia some years ago suicide bombers killed about 90 people and wounded several others at a Moscow, airport terminal. This incident was similar to what happened recently at the Demodedovo, Moscow, airport. Years ago two women suicide bombers were able to ride as passengers of two commercial flights in Moscow. The crash of the airplanes caused the death of all the people aboard.
In our country a few days ago, five people died and 13 were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) consisting of an 81mm mortar shell exploded after it was triggered by cellphone. On St. Valentine's Day, 2005, four people were killed and 60 wounded when an IED exploded in a bus at EDSA. On that day, there were also bombings at a mall in General Santos City and a bus terminal in Davao, killing and wounding several people. I remember that some years ago, there was a bombing at a waiting shed in front of the Davao City airport which killed and wounded several people.
In December, 2001, there were simultaneous bombings of an LRT train at Plaza Ferguson and at the corner of EDSA and Pasay Road, where the only unfortunate casualty was a peace officer who was trying to defuse the bomb. A third explosion was in a bus in Cubao and the fourth was in the cargo bay of the NAIA, Pasay City. About 15 people died and almost a hundred were wounded.
However the worst incident was the bombing of the W.G.A. Super Ferry in Manila Bay on the 27th of February which killed more than 100, not only because of the explosion but also because of drowning.
Fortunately, the St. Valentine's Day bombers have been accounted for. The Jemaah Islamiyah founder Fathur Rohman Al Ghozi, an Indonesian, was killed together with two suspected Abu Sayyaf members after their escape from Camp Crame. As for the rest of the group, the Supreme Court affirmed the sentence meted out by the Court of Appeals of reclusion perpetua without parole for murder and attempted murder against Gamal Baharran alias ''Tapay,'' Angelo Trinidad alias ''Abu Khalil,'' and Rohmat Abdurrrohim alias ''Jackie.''
What can we the citizens do in order to help ourselves, which will in turn help the law enforcement agencies to fight terrorists? First, at the airports or seaports or bus terminals when we travel, we should encourage and welcome the people whose job is to see to it that we are safe from terrorists. Regardless of our status in life as well as our position in government, all of us must have a positive not a haughty attitude towards those who keep us safe. Second, while aboard a bus, ship, or aircraft, we must be alert to report any act that is unusual and when necessary we must be ready to disarm or capture any terrorist. Third, we should be safety conscious and for this purpose the government must train and emphasize methods, systems, and training that will minimize terrorist incidents. rene.espina@hotmail.com
