Manila, Aug 09: The military mutiny by renegade soldiers on July 27 derailed the Philippine government's campaign against terrorism just as the threat of attacks was rising, President Gloria Arroyo said today. In her weekly radio speech, she also warned that the bomb blast outside the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday could be copied in the Philippines as she called for renewed vigilance against terrorism despite the continuing threat of possible new coup attempts.

"I know that our attention has been stolen by the Oakwood mutiny last month but terrorism is something we cannot ignore," Arroyo said.

She was referring to the takeover of the Oakwood serviced apartments and surrounding areas of the Makati financial district by some 300 rebel soldiers on July 27.
The mutineers surrendered after a little more than 20 hours but officials have warned that the leaders of the plot are still at large and the threat of a coup has not yet ended.

"If it was not for the Oakwood mutiny, our campaign against terrorism would have been doing well," arroyo said.

Instead, "all of our strength was diverted and wasted on that treasonous event in Makati," she said.
She cautioned that "the terrorists will take advantage of any inattention of the public and they will attack the moment we are not prepared."

The government has said that the mutiny was part of an attempt to unseat and possibly kill arroyo and replace her with a 15-man junta.

Bureau Report