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Political experts and critics of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have suggested that the Malacañang Palace could be behind the blast in the Glorietta 2 mall, to divert public attention from scores of scandals of corruption plaguing the administration. The latest was the alleged bribes in the form of cash gifts from 200,000 to 500,000 pesos (around US$4,500 to $11,000) to lawmakers, governors and local government officials.
Despite denials issued by military and police officials that the government had anything to do with the bombing, public perception is high that the government could have been involved. This is because Arroyo and public officials are suffering from an extreme crisis of credibility as far as the Filipino public and opinion makers are concerned.
Hours after the bombing incident, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, acknowledged leader of the junior military officers who staged a military mutiny inside the posh Oakwood Hotel on July 27, 2003, immediately issued a statement pinpointing Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez as possible masterminds of the bombing incident.
Trillanes said the incident was an offshoot of Oplan Greenbase, an alleged military project in 2003 that entailed the bombing of various establishments in the South, including the Davao International Airport and the Sasa Wharf in Davao City. Later these terrorist acts would be attributed to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to convince the United States and European Union to include the Muslim separatist group in their list of foreign terrorist organizations.
The theory and perception that last Friday's bombing was the handiwork of the dirty work department of Malacañang was further bolstered when Philippine National Police Chief Inspector Grace Eustaqio and Senior Supt. Albert Ferro of the PNP Bomb Data Center reported that traces of RDX, a main component of the C4 explosive, an exclusive and strictly military ordnance, had been found at the site.
"RDX is the main component of C4 and is a high explosive. As such, the extent of damage it causes is really tremendous," said Eustaquio, head of the PNP Crime Laboratory's chemistry division. Ferro said the police could presume those explosives were of military ordnance components and those explosives could be of that origin.
Critics of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, a multisectoral alliance of left-leaning cause-oriented groups, the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya and even the moderate business group Makati Business Club, agreed that an independent body should investigate the recent bombing in Manila rather than entrust it to military and police authorities.
These groups made their respective calls after the police changed their angle from calling the bombing a terrorist attack to describing it as an accident. Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes and Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap opined that government investigators are heading for a major cover up, because initial findings of the PNP Crime Laboratory asserted that C4 was used in the bombing incident. This is a working clue and appropriate lead to unmask the perpetrators and determine their motives.
These groups said the independent fact-finding body should be composed of political analysts, human rights advocates, forensic experts, acknowledged scientists and chemists, church leaders from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, independent lawmakers, lawyers and paralegal groups, former justices of the Supreme Court and objective groups capable of determining the truth and unmasking the perpetrators of the Glorietta 2 bombing.
They said Supreme Court Justice Reynato Puno and CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo could lead the independent probe to generate and galvanize public support for the independent body.
According to them, the high tribunal's chief justice and Lagdameo are perceived by the Filipino public as credible, objective and logical thinkers and they are politically and morally fit to lead the probe.
Advocates of an independent probe said once the independent body begins working on its assignment, officials like Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Gonzales, Department of Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Gen. Esperon and PNP chief Avelino Razon should either resign or take an indefinite leave of absence.
They said Ermita and company should resign or take a leave of absence once the independent body begins its work, to prevent them and Arroyo from influencing the outcome of the investigation. The Senate, the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court must ensure their protection from any kind of harassment.
Filipino public opinion as to the possible involvement of the Manila government on the latest bombing incident in Makati City remains high and seemingly unchangeable. And they cannot be blamed given the long-running track record of corruption of the present administration, its persistent use of political harassment to silence or scare critics, and the still unresolved spate of political killings and enforced disappearances victimizing 889 and 194 social activists since 2001.
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(Gerry Albert Corpuz is a correspondent of Bulatlat.com, an alternative Philippine online news site. He is also the head of the information department of Pamalakaya, a national federation of small fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines. His website is www.gerryalbertcorpuz.motime.com, and he can be contacted at themanager98@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Gerry Albert Corpuz.)
