A LEADER and seven members of a sleeper
terrorist cell allegedly plotting bombings in Metro Manila have
surrendered to the National Capital Region Command through the
efforts of soldiers who were deployed in Tondo, Manila before
the elections, a military commander in the metropolis said
yesterday.
AFP-NCRCom chief Maj. Gen. Ben Mohammad
Dolorfino said the eight have agreed to help the military
convince the 30 other members of the sleeper cell to also yield.
"We’ll try to establish contact with the (30), assuming they are
still here (in Metro Manila)," he said.
Dolorfino said the eight surrendered at the
NCRcom headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo last May 1, two months
after the men initially approached the immersed soldiers who
were then holding a dialogue with residents of Isla Puting Bato.
"They approached the soldiers and discussed
their surrender," Dolorfino said.
He said the eight arrived in Metro Manila in
1996 after completing training under members of the Southeast
Asian regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah in Central
Mindanao. "They know how to make bombs, the improvised ones
which have a cellphone triggering device," he said.
Dolorfino said the cell members later became
involved with the Abu Sayyaf Group and they know who were behind
the Valentine’s Day bombings in 2005 in the cities of Makati,
Davao and General Santos which killed eight and injured scores
of others.
The military has blamed the Valentine’s Day
bombings on the ASG and the radical Rajah Solaiman Movement
which were reportedly financed by the JI.
"They actually admitted that they have
knowledge about the Valentine’s Day bombings," said Dolorfino.
He added, however, that the eight cannot be detained because
they were not involved in the bombings.
He said the eight also know Sanjalih Utoh,
leader of the MILF-SOG sleeper cell, who was arrested with
several of his men by government forces in an operation in
Taytay, Rizal last February.
Dolorfino declined to name the eight except
to say that all were males, the leader was between 40 to 50
years old, the rest were between 20 to 30 years, and all were
from Maguindanao. He said the eight have not been communicating
with the MILF and their assessment is that they are now involved
with the ASG and JI.
He said the eight could also be involved in
criminal activities in Tondo.
The surrender took place 10 days before the
troops completed their pullout from the depressed areas in Metro
Manila. The withdrawal of the soldiers began last May 9, five
days before the elections, to avoid being accused of involvement
in election-related irregularities.
Dolorfino said the eight were given P58,000
under the Balik Baril program after they turned over a baby
armalite, Springfield rifle, Thompson submachine gun, grenade,
three caliber 45s, two caliber 38 pistols and one home-made
shotgun.
The eight are now being trained by the military to repair
cellular phones for their livelihood, a component of the program
for those who return to the fold of the law. Dolorfino said the
eight are now under the care of the Civil Military Operations
Battalion while their papers are being processed. – Victor
Reyes
