Manila: Security forces have foiled a terror threat in Metro Manila, with the arrest and filing of cases against three suspected bombers in suburban Quezon City on October 5, putting an end to speculations of new and active threats in the metropolis, said the spokesmen of the military, police, and the presidential office.

Despite travel warnings from the United States and Australia that predicted bombings in Metro Manila, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor said, “Let us not exploit the situation because this brings fear to our citizens especially in Metro Manila. We remind the public to remain calm but vigilant.”

“The PNP was on heightened alert level on Thursday because President Benigno Aquino left for Indonesia for a two-day visit,” Mayor explained.

“We assure the public of the readiness of the Philippine National Police in addressing any threat of this nature, and thwarting any attempt by threat groups to sow fear and anxiety among our people,” said Armed Forces public affairs head Lt Col Harold Cabuno.

The police have been coordinating with military members to monitor possible movements of terror groups in the metropolis, Cabuno said.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Aquino’s Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said, “Our security officials are not letting their guard down. Our Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police are aware of the situation.”

Reacting to travel advisories from foreign countries, Mayor said, “It’s a procedural action of a foreign government to protect their own citizens.”

Meanwhile, Quezon City Assistant Prosecutor Perfecto Chua announced that bail was not recommended for the three suspected terrorists who were arrested near Munoz Market at the corner of EDSA, a major thoroughfare and Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City, last October 5.

They were identified as Ricardo Ayeras, 41, also known as Abdul Karim Ayeras, from Pangasinan, northern Luzon; Andrescio Valdez , 23, alias Sabri Sindayen, from Sulu, southern Philippines; and Ricky Macapagal, also called Adurahmin.

They were alleged members of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), a group composed of Islam converts who were mostly from Pangasinan in northern Luzon.

Ayeras was blamed for a series of bomb attacks in the past: a passenger bus of Ayala Avenue that killed four people and injured 60 others on January 14, 2005; a passenger ferry that killed 116 people at the Manila Bay in 2004; and at the Awang Airport, which killed one person in Maguindanao, southern Philippines in 2003.

Ayeras was a trusted man of Rajah Solaiman Movement founder Hilario “Ahmad” Santos and his brother Tyrone “Dawud” Santos, intelligence officials said. But brothers were arrested in 2005, but Tyrone escaped from prison and remains at large.

Ayeras was a student of RSM co-founder Ruben Omar Pestano Lavilla Jr., also known as Shaikh Omar Lavilla, a former teacher at the University of the Philippines (Quezon City), and a former employee at the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain. He was arrested in 2005.

The UN Security Council has included Ayeras in a sanction list for extending alleged logistical support to the Rajah Solaiman Movement and to the Abu Sayyaf Group, which has active link with the Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian conduit of the Al Qaida.

Last October 5, authorities seized from Ayeras a hand grenade and an identification card with the name “Ely Mariano Faiso”. Macapagal had no driver’s licence; while Valdez, a new recruit, carried identification cards that bore the names “Michael Anderson Sarcia” and “Najib Habalo.”

The three were not charged with foiled terror activities in Metro Manila even if a document was seized from Ayeras which detailed bomb attacks in the metropolis, a source from the intelligence office told Gulf News.

Instead, they were charged with illegal possession of firearms, falsification of documents (because of their aliases in seized identification cards), riding a motorcycle without a helmet, and driving without licence, said Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Director Chief Superintendent Richard Albano.