Neophyte Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa yesterday called for public vigilance amid the possibility there could be homegrown suicide bombers roaming around major cities in the country.
Dela Rosa made the call following a recent report that cops were able to pin down a suspected terrorist group in Sto. Tomas, Batangas after a shootout.
The three fatalities who were from Mindanao reportedly rented an apartment on Valle Pio St. in Barangay San Pablo for almost two months.
Cops said the suspects frequented the apartment and locked themselves inside after they noticed the undercover agents.
According to reports, the men reportedly shouted: “Hindi kami susuko at lalaban kami, Allahu Akbar!”
“Before, we strongly believed that that would not happen here. That it’s impossible to happen here. But now that we have an encounter like this, we need to watch out,” Dela Rosa said.
“That’s really different now, a Filipino suicide bomber might be already be involved, so we need to be vigilant,” he said.
“Before, only foreigners are involved in suicide bombings, now, we have Filipinos who are homegrown. As we said before, in due time, it is really possible to have Filipino suicide bombers. Now it’s happening, so we must be alert,” the former Philippine National Police chief added. (Hannah Torregoza)