IS couple to be deported; lookout on for others

Authorities are checking on the possibility other foreign terrorists are actively operating in the country following the arrest recently at a condominium in Taguig City of a couple – a Kuwaiti and a Syrian – suspected of being members of terror group Islamic State (IS), Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday.

“We are going to continue in partnership with our intelligence units to verify if there are other persons involved,” Aguirre said, adding that the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is readying deportation proceedings against Kuwaiti national Husayn al-Dhafiri and Syrian Rahaf Zina. The BI is under the Department of Justice.

With the arrest of the couple, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella called on the public to be vigilant against possible terror acts and criminality.

“We commend the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Justice and other agencies of government for the swift action and timely arrest of these individuals that may have posed a danger to our security,” Abella said.

“(The arrest) is a testament to the effectivity of our ongoing cooperation internationally against terrorism and the vigilance of our agencies and security sector,” he added.

“We encourage our citizens to remain vigilant, alert and ever mindful of their surroundings as well as report to concerned authorities any information to prevent possible terrorist or criminal activities,” he said.

“The government – utilizing the military, police, and civilian government – will exhaust all efforts to ensure peace and order, as well as the safety of our people. Ultimately, peace and progress will result from the joint efforts of all,” he added.

Al-Dhafiri is allegedly involved in explosives manufacturing while Zina is the widow of the slain Abu Jandal Al-Kuwaiti, the No. 2 military commander of the IS in Syria who was killed in an airstrike last December.

Al-Dhafiri and Zina were arrested last March 25 and are now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Their arrest was carried out upon the request of the Kuwaiti embassy.

“The deportation proceeding is ongoing. In about a month’s time or less, they will be properly deported to their respective authorities,” Aguirre said.

Al-Dhafiri’s travel records reportedly showed that he first visited the Philippines in 2016 on a tourist visa.

Aguirre said the couple has been in the country since Jan. 28 using working visas facilitated by a local company called Q8 Solutions.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla confirmed they are checking if other foreign terrorists have arrived in the country to launch attacks.

“For the AFP, the presence of the threat is not what is critical. What is very important and critical to the military is its ability to respond when a threat becomes active,” he said.

“We can confidently say that we can protect you, the people, against these threat groups,” Padilla stressed.

Terror financing

Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III of party-list group Acts-OFW told a news conference alDhafiri runs a medical certification company that has collected at least P700 million from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with the connivance of some Kuwaiti embassy officers.

“This guy al-Dhafiri is the managing director-owner of Winston Q8 Solutions. I think he is the same suspected member of Islamic State arrested by immigration agents with his wife at the Winston Q8 office in Taguig,” Bertiz said yesterday.

“If he is really a terrorist and IS member, that means that he was funding his activities with hundreds of millions collected illegally from OFWs and job applicants bound for Kuwait,” he said.

He said Winston Q8 is the clearinghouse for medical certification required of Kuwait-bound workers.

“The Kuwaiti embassy in Bonifacio Global City will not process a worker’s visa application unless its personnel see a medical certificate from any of the eight clinics accredited by al-Dhafiri’s firm. There is an advisory to that effect at the embassy,” he said.

He added that Winston Q8 itself does not conduct medical test for workers and only refers job applicants to its accredited clinics.

“In short, their capital is saliva only. But workers have to go through them because the embassy will not process their visa papers,” Bertiz stressed.

He said al-Dhafiri collects P9,000 from each job applicant, who has to pay an additional P2,200 to the medical clinic Winston Q8 refers him to.

He estimated that the terrorist suspect’s firm collected P100 million a month, or a total of at least P700 million since it started its certification business in September last year.

“Where is that huge amount of money now? Did al-Dhafiri remit it to IS or is he using it for his activities and those of his cohorts here? I think that should be part of the investigation of the authorities,” he said.

Bertiz said what Winston Q8 is doing is illegal “because the law bans any group of hospitals or clinics from monopolizing health certification for OFWs, who have the right to choose any hospital or clinic accredited by the Department of Health (DOH).

“Unfortunately, some Kuwaiti embassy officers were tolerating this company’s unlawful activities,” he stressed.

Suspended operations

Bertiz said the DOH, Department of Labor and Employment and Department of Foreign Affairs should have stopped the unlawful monopoly of health certification for Kuwait-bound workers by al-Dhafiri and his eight accredited clinics.

Ironically, he noted it was the Kuwaiti government that alerted immigration authorities to the supposed terrorist links of its citizen and his wife.

Bertiz revealed that the DOH belatedly suspended last March 8 the operation of al-Dhafiri’s eight clinics.

The eight are Abakkus Medical Diagnostic Services, with address at 38 Calatagan St., Palanan, Makati; Agoncillo Medical Clinic, 1721 F. Agoncillo St., Malate, Manila; Ruber Bartolome MD Clinic, Bartolome Tower, 878 Nakpil St., Malate, Manila; Global Medical Clinic, 1800 A. Mabini St., also in Malate; Orion Medical and Diagnostic Center, 1956 P. Hidalgo St., Malate, Manila; Our Health Medical and Diagnostic Center, 801D, United Nations Avenue, Manila; Our Lady of All Nations X-Ray Laboratory, 463 Remedios St., Malate, Manila; and San Marcelino Medical Clinic, 2118 Leon Guinto St., also in Malate.

Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial said the operation of the eight clinics was suspended “pending our investigation on the alleged monopoly being practiced by them in the conduct of pre-employment medical examination for migrant workers bound for Kuwait.”

Amid fears other foreign terrorists are operating in the country, the Philippine National Police (PNP) assured the public there is nothing to fear as some 75,000 police personnel have been deployed across the country for the Holy Week and summer vacation.

“Our preparation is doing well and our intelligence operatives are continuously gathering information,” PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said in a press briefing.

Carlos said the PNP has been on full alert since President Duterte’s declaration of a state of lawlessness following the bombing of Davao City in September last year.

“If we obtained intelligence information, appropriate number of policemen will be deployed to prevent a threat (from being carried out),” said Carlos.