MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines and Palace officials assured the public Friday the shooting and fire incident at midnight that killed 37 people in Resorts World Manila is not a terror attack, and that Metro Manila remains safe despite the 11-day fighting in Marawi between soldiers and Maute Group-led gunmen.
Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, AFP spokesperson, said there is definitely no involvement of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Resorts World event; nor is there any monitored IS threat in the metropolis. He said the NCRPO has given repeated assurances that Metro Manila is safe.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said reports that the IS had “owned” the RWM incident were expected, because groups like IS would benefit, propaganda-wise, by projecting themselves as strong and expanding in scope of terror and influence.
For his part, Padilla said, “Our advice to the public is first be discerning of what you get from social media and find out if there is basis to believe that news. Second, compare it to your surroundings.”
Padilla added, “we guarantee and we assure our citizens in the National Capital Region that all your security forces are continuously working to ensure that we are free
and safe from any kind of these threats.”
On Friday, in the wake of the Resorts World incident, even security measures at Malacañan Palace tightened up perceptively, with military armored vehicles and troops visible outside the perimeters of the Presidential Palace for a few hours.
Up to 11:00 a.m., not all vehicles with routine official business inside Malacañang were allowed to enter “as usual”, including the duly accredited News5 service vehicle.
Officially, though, the position of the Presidential Security Group was that the transitional tight security did not have anything to do with the incident in Pasay City.
An SMS text message from Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Lope Dagoy: “Not necessarily bec of RW incident, its just part of our security opns and readiness.”
Abella said that like the NCRPO, they did not monitor any threat, while assuring the public that security forces are on constant alert to ensure the safety of everyone.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had tagged, in his Twitter account, the RWM tragedy an act of terror.
Abella said investigation has shown that no terrorist was involved in the RWM shooting, believed carried out by a mentally unstable man who set fire to the gaming tables at the casino areas on the secondf floor, causing panic as some guests jumped from the second and third floors.
Most deaths were attributed to smoke inhalation asnd suffocation.
Padilla advised people to be careful about just sharing what they get on social media, and to validate information they get from mainstream media.