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Philippine police cite lead in hunt for bombers

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January 1, 2001 

MANILA-- (AP) - Philippine authorities combed wreckage, drew a composite sketch and manned a tip hot line Sunday as they searched for suspects in five explosions that killed at least 14 people and left the nation on edge.

Jittery Manila residents celebrated a comparatively subdued Near Year's Eve amid a heavy police presence, grim media images of mangled bodies and the fear of more attacks.

No one has claimed responsibility for Saturday's explosions, which hit a train, a bus, a gas station, a park and Manila's international airport. More than 100 people were injured.

Philippine President Joseph Estrada's impeachment trial on corruption charges was in recess for the holidays. He denied opposition claims that he would use the bombings as an excuse to declare martial law.

Police in Manila said they were holding a witness who helped draft a composite sketch of a man he said he saw hiding one of the bombs.

Philippine National Police Supt. Nicanor Bartolome added he had "a good lead" in the investigation but refused to expand.

No suspects were named, but there was a crossfire of accusations and suspicion.

Police earlier hinted that Muslim rebels could be involved, while a presidential spokesman implicated communist rebels. The powerful political opposition said the attacks were aimed to distract the population from Estrada's trial.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Maceda said a senior military official told him a woman was arrested near a blast site, apparently carrying a bomb. Maceda also warned that intelligence reports showed a possibility of more attacks, particularly in rural areas and Manila suburbs.

Maceda said he believes communist rebels of the New People's Army were behind the bombings.

Philippine Armed Forces Chief Gen. Angelo Reyes said soldiers are increasing patrols of communications, power and water facilities nationwide Sunday as plain clothes and uniform police boost security at Manila malls, transportation terminals and key government buildings, including the presidential palace.

The first four explosions Saturday came almost simultaneously around midday, sÑmding thousands of panicked residents rushing from buildings. A bomb on a train killed 11 people and injured more than 60.

Later, police found a fifth bomb at a downtown gas station. Two members of a bomb squad were killed when it went off while they tried to defuse it.

Manila was on edge Sunday. Police were swamped with reports of suspicious packages, and several buildings were temporarily evacuated in false alarms. Police evacuated a Manila train station Sunday after passers-by spotted what they thought was a bomb. It was a large, broken radio.

Hospital officials, normally swamped with fireworks-related injuries on New Year's Eve, said celebrations were more subdued than in previous years.

Graphic media images heightened the sense of insecurity.

Television showed an unconscious boy in the hospital after his leg was amputated, and one newspaper carried a front-page photo of a rescue worker carrying a little girl's mangled body.

The attacks also increased political tension, already high with Estrada's fate hanging in the balance. His Senate trial is to resume Tuesday.

Accused of taking millions of dollars in illegal gambling receipts and tax money intended for tobacco farmers, the president is charged with bribery, graft, betrayal of public trust and violating the constitution.

A conviction would force Estrada from office and replace him with Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, an opposition leader. The president and vice president are elected separately.

Police said the bombings had no apparent link to the trial and suggested the Abu Sayyaf, the smaller of two Muslim separatist groups in the southern Philippines, were to blame.

The government has been fighting the Abu Sayyaf rebels for 10 years, but the conflict intensified this summer. The blasts came a day after Manila-area police were put on alert for holiday bombing attacks by the rebel group.

On Thursday, police arrested Abu Sayyaf spokesman Hector Janjalani in Manila. They said he had several grenades and sketches of potential targets in the city.

But presidential spokesman Ernesto Maceda pointed to the New People's Army, a communist rebel group that has been fighting the government for more than 30 years.