MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday dismissed the claim of the Islamic State that its supposed “Filipino operative” was responsible for the attack on Resorts World Manila that left at least 36 dead, including the suspect.

“You must know by now that the organization will claim anything, left and right, whatever it is. Miski may natalisod dyan ike-claim nila,” AFP spokesperson Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said in an interview.

“[Pagdating sa] credibility ba pagkakatiwalaan mo [sila]?”

The victims, including casino patrons and employees, died after a gunman barged into Resorts World Manila in Pasay City and set ablaze its casino area around midnight Friday. The gunman later set himself on fire and shot himself dead, authorities said.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terror groups’ online activities, quoted the Islamic State as saying that its Filipino “operative” carried out the attack.

“The Filipino Islamic State (IS) operative who earlier claimed that the group is responsible for the attack at Resorts World Manila in Pasay, Philippines, identified the alleged attacker and noted that his main objective was to burn the casino inside,” the report read.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Oscar Albayalde, however, said the alleged lone gunman was a criminal who was “mentally disturbed.”

“Apparently he is mentally disturbed. Nakita naman natin, that’s why we could not relate it to terrorism,” Albayalde said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

“If he is a terrorist, he [should be] bringing with him tons of bombs. Why would he not shoot everybody there and detonate himself?” Albayalde added, noting that all of the fatalities died of suffocation.

WHO WAS THE GUNMAN?

Authorities have yet to identify the gunman, which some witnesses described as Caucasian-looking.

Albayalde also dismissed reports that the gunman had other companions when he carried out the attack amid contrary witness accounts.

• Read: Gunman did not act alone: witnesses

“I have a picture of him, and based sa CCTV (closed circuit television) na tinignan natin, pagpasok niya until the end mag-isa lang siya and he was identified,” Albayalde said.

The police chief added that while authorities have yet to identify the gunman, he could be a frequent casino player who wanted to regain his losses. This might be his motive for attempting to steal about P113 million worth of casino chips.

“It’s not far-fetched na he’s frequenting that casino kasi most probably, sabi nga, he is mentally disturbed, baka talunan ito sa casino,” he said.

NO TERROR THREAT IN METRO MANILA

Albayalde also allayed fears that terrorists may now be targeting the country’s capital, even as he stressed that state security forces were working hard.

Earlier, Malacañang has clarified that the incident was not terrorism and not at all related to the Marawi City crisis, where government forces continue to pursue Islamic militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The siege had prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to place Mindanao under martial law.

“Maganda ang prevailing peace and order dito sa Metro Manila. We have not monitored any threat [of] terrorism dito sa Metro Manila and while wala naman tayong namo-monitor na threat, hindi tayo pwedeng mag-relax,” Albayalde said.

“Our intelligence community is on constant monitoring of the possible na mga threat groups who could be possibly here in Metro Manila although wala tayong namo-monitor na ganoon," he added.

Albayalde said survivors' claims attributing the incident to the ISIS have also fueled fears that the nation’s capital was under a terror attack.

“Nung nagpanic sila, they were somewhat shouting, ‘ISIS! ISIS! ISIS!’. They always assume na it’s ISIS. Pinapakiusapan natin ang mga kababayan na huwag silang ma-alarma, at huwag i-relate ito to terror groups,” he said.

Albayalde added that the the police force, which is fully trusted by the President on security matters, has not yet made any recommendation to place other parts of the country under martial law in the wake of the attack.

This amid concerns that the President may decide to extend his martial law declaration outside Mindanao.

“We did not recommend anything on that issue especially to the president. It’s only the president who can decide on that,” he said.

Padilla, meanwhile, appealed to the public not to easily fall for “fake news” on the hotel attack.

“Generally, a lot of quarters overreact to situations like these especially [since] we are having all these events in Mindanao following the declaration of martial law and the hostilities in Marawi,” Padilla said.

“Be discerning on what you get on social media and find out if there is basis to believe that news… Do not pass on any news that may be fake," he added.