Sen. Marcos Calls For Tighter Security As The Country Marks
15th Anniversary Of Rizal Day Bombing

Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. today urged authorities to tighten the security of transport hubs, malls and other areas where large numbers of people converge.

Marcos aired this call as the country marks the 15th anniversary of the tragic Rizal Day bombings perpetrated by Muslim extremists linked to the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah that claimed 22 lives and injured over a hundred other individuals.

He noted that a few days ago the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Abu Sayyaf launched separate attacks against the government's military forces in Mindanao.

"While these attacks seem to be largely directed against the military forces we must not be complacent. We must not allow the bombings that occurred 15 years ago to happen again," Marcos said.

On December 30, 2000 five separate explosions rocked Metro Manila: in Plaza Ferguson in Malate, Manila; in a gas station in Makati, in a bus in Cubao, in a cargo handling station at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and in the LRT coach at the Blumentritt station which caused the most number of casualties.

The Senator also cited reports that the BIFF claimed their recent attacks were inspired by ISIS, who were behind the November terror attacks in Paris that left 129 dead and over 350 people injured.

Likewise, Marcos pointed out that Malaysian and Indonesian terrorists have linked with Muslim extremists and that a Malaysian bomb expert was killed in an encounter between the Abu Sayyaf and the military in Basilan last December 15.

"We must not allow extremism in any ground to grow," Marcos, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government and sponsor of the Basic Law for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR) meant to embody the peace pact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) asserted.

With the BLBAR passage uncertain in the few remaining session days of Congress, Marcos said efforts to find peace in Muslim Mindanao should not and never be abandoned.