The Philippines is certainly under siege by a demonic ideology known as Islamic State, or IS for short. The latest place to fall foul of IS’ bullets? Resorts World Manila, which is a popular casino hotel that saw gunshots fired as well as a fire breaking out slightly past midnight on June 2 in the Philippines. This is certainly an alarming situation, taking into consideration how the city of Marawi in the Southern Philippines is also undergoing a siege by IS-linked operatives, trapping many Christians there. According to the SITE Intelligence Group which keeps track of terrorist organizations, it claimed that an ISIS "Filipino operative" was the one responsible for this hideous attack on Resorts World Manila. The gunman apparently committed suicide later on by self-immolation.
Resorts World Manila is a casino hotel that is located just across the road from one of the main terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. Resorts World Manila tweeted the situation, citing that it is "currently on lockdown following reports of gunfire from unidentified men." A following tweet mentioned, "The Company is working closely with the Philippine National Police to ensure that all guests and employees are safe."
According to SITE, "An Islamic State (IS) Filipino operative who provides daily updates on the ongoing clashes in Marawi stated that the group is responsible for the attack at Resorts World Manila in Pasay, Philippines." However, the Philippine National Police (PNP) had a different view about this, mentioning that this is but a robbery incident at first glance. PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa mentioned to reporters hours after the incident, “We’re looking at robbery as an angle because he stole, he barged into the storage room for casino chips. He took the chips, put them inside his backpack but eventually left it. We have recovered the backpack.”
So which is it -- an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack at a popular tourist destination, or is it simply a case of a robbery as claimed by the police? The world would most certainly slant toward the former, taking into consideration how the month of Ramadan seems to have a rather strange effect on Muslims who want to earn extra brownie points in getting to heaven by committing atrocities against the rest of humanity. With Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte already having imposed martial law just last week across the southern region of Mindanao in order to subjugate and eliminate the rising threat of ISIS in that area, will he do the same for Manila? This is not likely though, as Manila is the capital of the country, and to declare martial law would certainly paralyze the beating heart of the country.
However, we should never rule out that particular possibility, especially after taking into consideration how Duterte mentioned last week that martial law might actually be declared across the whole of Philippines should the scourge of Islamic terrorism spread all over the rest of the country.
NCRPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Kim Molitas did ask the public to “advice relatives and friends to stay out of the area”, and in order to do their bit to help out the authorities, they should not spread posts from the hotel. Her main concern is to protect the remaining people who are trapped inside the hotel, as well as offer some cover for the deployed policemen.
The rise of Islamic militarism will certainly affect the rest of the world in a negative manner as terror and fear continues to spread. It is an affront that Western countries take in these Muslim refugees and those who seek for political asylum, only to have their way of life threatened by such attacks. At present time, Resorts World Manila’s stock price has plunged by more than 5 per cent since the day’s opening bell, while parent company’s stock Genting Malaysia Berhad in Malaysia has remained unchanged.
