Top Philippine lawmaker labels casino attack a ‘terrorist’ act
Daesh not behind deadly assault, says president
adviser, said all the evidence pointed to an attempt to steal casino chips.
“We must draw up a clear and better plan to secure Metro Manila and other urban centers from Daesh-linked groups that we already know will attempt to kill and maim in pursuit of their ideology,” Alvarez said. The stolen chips have been recovered. Police said on Saturday there were two “persons of interest” who have connections with the gunman and are cooperating with the investigation. on Friday expressed alarm at the apparent ease with which a lone gunman was able to enter the building, open fire and start a fire whose smoke killed more than 30 people.
Firefighters discovered the bodies in the main gaming area, hours after the country’s police chief had said the situation was under control.
Police corrected earlier statements about the attacker. They originally said he arrived at the hotel in a private car, but changed that to a cab, and they had described him as Caucasian and English-speaking but the cab driver told them he spoke in the local language.
“Our authorities should get their act together and put in place the highest level of security measures to prevent this from happening again, here or elsewhere in the country,” Alvarez said.
“This incident should be a wake-up call for the police and the military to cooperate closely in making the seat of government and our financial and business center safe from any terrorist attack.”
The Philippines has been on heightened alert amid the crisis in Marawi where troops have been battling militants since May 23 and martial law is in place.
Officials in Indonesia worry that even if the Filipinos successfully take back Marawi in coming days, the threat will still remain high. “We worry they will come over here,” said one Indonesian counter-terrorism official, noting that Mindanao was not very far from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.