 |
Aida D. Fariscal (born c. 1940 - died April 2006) was a former police officer and watch commander in the Manila Police Department in the Philippines. Her name is largely unknown outside of the Philippines.
Fariscal spent seventeen years as a homemaker before enrolling in the police department in 1977. The widow of a slain police officer, she rose through the ranks of the Manila Police Department, and in 1983 won an award for arresting three murder suspects on Mindoro Island.
On the night of January 6, 1995, she was suspicious about a small fire that went out unassisted at the Doña Josefa Apartments; her suspicions were augmented by a wave of bombings that hit Metro Manila, and Philippine Airlines Flight 434. This led her to uncover a terrorist plot made by alleged Al Qaida agents named Operation Bojinka. She came to the apartment with a partner, looked around, and left after a telephone rang, fearing that it might be a remote trigger for an explosive. [1]
She had to ask 11 judges to find one that would grant her a search warrant. She, along with a group of investigators and police then uncovered evidence, before arresting a suspect who called himself Ahmed Saeed. She refused to let go of the suspect, who turned out to be Abdul Hakim Murad, after he offered her 110,740 Philippine pesos ($2,000 U.S. dollars).
Her decision to investigate the fire possibly saved thousands of lives, including possibly that of Pope John Paul II. She received a monetary award of the equivalent of 33,222 pesos ($700) and a trip to Taiwan from the government. She also won a laminated award from the CIA for her action. The certificate reads, "Awarded to Senior Inspector Aida D. Fariscal, in recognition of your personal outstanding efforts and co-operation." [2] After she foiled the plot, the Philippine police assigned her two bodyguards for five years. The bodyguard service ended shortly before September 11, 2001.
She died of an illness in April 2006.
She is depicted in the 2006 docudrama The Path to 9/11, although by a much younger actress. An actress portrays her in the Mayday (Air Emergency, Air Crash Investigation) episode "Bomb on Board." [3]
Jemaah Islamiyah was a Southeast Asian Islamist militant group based in Indonesia, which was dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. On 25 October 2002, immediately following the JI-perpetrated 2002 Bali bombings, JI was added to the UN Security Council Resolution 1267.
The 2002 Zamboanga bombings were a series of attacks perpetrated on the October 2, 17 and 21, 2002, around the southern Philippine port of Zamboanga City, Mindanao island. Eleven people died and over 180 others were wounded in the four bomb attacks allegedly perpetrated by Islamic extremists with connections to the Abu Sayyaf insurgent group.
Ramzi Ahmed Yousef is a convicted terrorist who was one of the main perpetrators and the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434; he was also a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and U.S. Diplomatic Security Service at a guest house in Islamabad, Pakistan, while trying to set a bomb in a doll, then extradited to the United States.
The Bojinka plot was a large-scale, three-phase terrorist attack planned by Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for January 1995. They planned to assassinate Pope John Paul II; blow up 11 airliners in flight from Asia to the United States, with the goal of killing approximately 4,000 passengers and shutting down air travel around the world; and crash a plane into the headquarters of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia.
Philippine Airlines Flight 434, sometimes referred to as PAL434 or PR434, was a scheduled flight on December 11, 1994, from Manila to Tokyo with a quick stopover in Cebu on a Boeing 747-283B that was seriously damaged by a bomb, killing one passenger and damaging vital control systems, although the plane was in a repairable state. The bombing was a test run of the unsuccessful Bojinka terrorist attacks. The Boeing 747 was flying the second leg of a route from Mactan–Cebu International Airport in Cebu, Philippines to Narita International Airport, in Tokyo, Japan. After the bomb detonated, 58-year-old veteran pilot Captain Eduardo "Ed" Reyes was able to land the aircraft, saving it and the remaining passengers and crew.
Abdul Hakim Ali Hashim Murad is a Pakistani Islamist terrorist, who was a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot—the forerunner to the September 11 attacks. In 1996, he was convicted in the United States of trying to blow up a dozen airliners and was sentenced to life in prison.
The Rizal Day bombings, also referred to as the December 30 bombings, were a series of bombings that occurred around Metro Manila in the Philippines on December 30, 2000. The explosions occurred within a span of a few hours, killing 22 people and injuring over 100 others.
Dorothy Guinto Jones, known professionally as Nida Blanca, was a Filipino actress and comedian. In a career spanning five decades, she is known for her dramatic and comedic roles in film and television in the Philippines. After signing with LVN Pictures, she starred in films during the 1950s; in most of the films, she co-starred alongside Nestor de Villa. She gained further prominence in the television sitcom John en Marsha (1973–1990). Blanca was found dead at the Atlanta Centre in San Juan City on November 7, 2001.
The Davao Death Squad (DDS) is a vigilante group in Davao City, Philippines. The group is alleged to have conducted summary executions of street children and individuals suspected of petty crimes and drug dealing. It has been estimated that the group is responsible for the killing or disappearance of between 1,020 and 1,040 people between 1998 and 2008. A 2009 report by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) noted stonewalling by local police under the mayorship of Rodrigo Duterte while a leaked cable observed a lack of public outrage among Davao residents.
2008 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2008.
Ana Theresia "Risa" Navarro Hontiveros–Baraquel is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist serving as a Senator since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representative for Akbayan from 2004 to 2010.
From 1986 to 1987, there were several plots to overthrow Philippine President Corazon Aquino involving various members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. A significant number of the military participants in these attempts belonged to the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), while others were identified loyalists of former President Ferdinand Marcos, who had been deposed in the People Power Revolution in late February 1986.
The Mindanao bombings was a series of seemingly unrelated bomb attacks that took place on July 4, 5, and 7, 2009 in the towns of Datu Piang and Jolo, and the cities of Cotabato and Iligan in Mindanao, Philippines. The bombings killed around 7 people and injured at least 66. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has blamed several militant organizations active in Mindanao, such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Abu Sayyaf, and Jemaah Islamiyah.
1995 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1995.
The 2010 Philippine Bar exam bombing occurred on Taft Avenue near De La Salle University (DLSU), located in Malate, Manila, Philippines, on September 26, 2010, at 5:05 pm PST, a few minutes after Philippine Bar examinees began exiting DLSU. A Mk2 grenade was thrown at a group of Alpha Phi Beta members from San Beda College. They were standing near Tau Gamma Phi members, who police believed were the real target of the explosive. This resulted in injuries to 47 people, including two who required amputations.
Zulkifli Abdhir was a Malaysian who was one of the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists. The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agency offered a US$5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He was the maker of bombs delivered for usage to several terrorist groups. He was often referred to by the nom de guerreMarwan. He was suspected of leading the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), being part of the central command of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings. He was suspected of hiding in Mindanao under the protection of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
The War on Drugs is the intensified anti-drug campaign that began during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who served office from June 30, 2016, to June 30, 2022. The campaign reduced drug proliferation in the country, but has been marred by extrajudicial killings allegedly perpetrated by the police and unknown assailants. By 2022, the number of drug suspects killed since 2016 was officially tallied by the government as 6,252; human rights organizations and academics, however, estimate that 12,000 to 30,000 civilians have been killed in "anti-drug operations" carried out by the Philippine National Police and vigilantes.
A bombing at the Roxas Night Market occurred in Davao City, Philippines, on September 2, 2016, causing at least 14 deaths and 70 injuries. On September 13, 2016, one of those injured, a pregnant woman, died, bringing the death toll up to 15.
Hussein Al-Dhufairi is a citizen of Kuwait who is a suspected member of Daesh (ISIL). He was arrested, in Manila, Philippines, in March, 2017. He was arrested with Rahaf Zina, a Syrian woman, also suspected of being a member of the group. He was extradited to Kuwait, in April, 2017. The Arab Times reported that Rahaf Zina was al-Dhufairi was his wife. The Philippine Daily Inquirer described her as his sister-in-law, and widow of his recently deceased brother, senior Daesh leader, Abdul Mohsen Al-Dhufairi. The Kuwait Times reported Hussein married his brother's widow.
In the morning of January 27, 2019, two bombs exploded at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu, Philippines. Twenty people were killed and 102 others injured. The bombings took place a week after the autonomy plebiscite held on January 21 for the creation of Bangsamoro. It is believed that the Abu Sayyaf carried out the attacks, and the Islamic State claimed responsibility. President Rodrigo Duterte responded by issuing an "all-out war" directive against the Abu Sayyaf. The bombings were widely condemned by other countries and organizations.