17 bomb suspects fall

Government agents raided yesterday a Muslim community in Quezon City and detained 17 men in connection with the Rizal Day bombings that have so far killed at least 22 people and wounded 96 others.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado confirmed that military intelligence agents took into custody several re-sidents of a Muslim settlement in Barangay Culiat in Quezon City.

The apprehensions were made a day after Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Panfilo Lacson vowed to arrest the perpetrators of the Dec. 30 bombings within 48 hours.

The men were apprehended at around 3 a.m. on Cotabato street at the Muslim compound in Barangay Culiat by elements from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) and the PNP.

They are now undergoing questioning at the ISAFP headquarters at Camp Agui-naldo where witnesses under police custody would also be brought to identify them.

Police said at least six witnesses and survivors saw the man responsible for the bombing of the LRT coach at the Blumentritt station in Manila where most of the victims and fatalities sustained their injuries.

Sources at Camp Crame said a team of prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) has arrived to evaluate the evidence at hand and prepare its documentation.

PNP probers are crossing their fingers that at least one of the 17 men detained would turn out to be one of the perpetrators.

Barangay Culiat chairman Hadji Nur Hassan, however, said that the men were mostly janitors, security guards and factory workers. Hassan added that 16 of those detained are Muslims while one is a Christian. Three firearms were allegedly confiscated from them.

Taken into custody were Efren Mamintal, 26, from Saranggani province; Danny Kusain, 23; Romano Salik, 27; Arnold Montong, 28; and Mohamad Balabag, 28, all of Sultan Kudarat; Legaspi Narimbung, 23; Misuari Panayaman, 22; Alvin Kinal, 24; and Miranda Unotan, 26, all of Cotabato; Sammy Unsi, 23; John menor, Japoy Abdullah, 18; Reala Mohamad, 27, Frederick Punzalan, 23; Akas Edcel, 30; Alan Acmad, 34,; and Rahib Lumalag, 20, all of Maguindanao.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome declined to comment on the pre-dawn raid except to say that the bombs used in the Dec. 30 attacks may have been triggered by cellular phones.

Bartolome said fragments of mobile phones were found in at least two of the five sites, indicating that the phones may have been part of the bombs which were set off by an incoming call.

Police have also released an artist’s sketch of one of the men, suspected of planting the bomb on the LRT coach.

Bartolome described the suspect as being between 35 and 40 years old, 120-130 pounds, with brown complexion and with a possibly Waray or Muslim accent.

"Vendors noticed the suspect to be tense and perspiring. He apparently ordered a glass of gulaman from an eatery at the Tayuman station," Bartolome said.

A female survivor of the LRT blast positively identified the person depicted in the artist’s sketch.

She said the bomber, who sat beside her, loudly said: "Bababa na ako, bumaba na kayo (I’m getting off. You all get off)" as the train was about to pull over at the Tayuman station.

Cory, Gloria lead protest rally today

In protest of the Rizal Day bombings, former President Corazon Aquino and Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will lead an indignation rally this afternoon in Makati City.

The rally "will show the terrorists that we will not be intimidated by dastardly acts, such as the bombing of innocent citizens, especially children," said businesswoman Vicky Garchitorena, one of the rally organizers.

Garchitorena chairs the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kompil)-II, a broad coalition made up of civil society, labor, urban poor, farmer and business groups formed last year to press for the resignation of President Estrada.

The 1 p.m. assembly points for the rally are Rustan’s department store on Ayala Avenue, the Makati fire station at the corner of Ayala and Gil Puyat Avenues and Don Bosco on Arnaiz Avenue.

From the assembly points, the protesters will march and proceed to the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas at the foot of Ninoy Aquino statue where the rally is set to commence at 2 p.m.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila police chief Director Edgar Aglipay welcomed the threat of retired PNP Director Dionisio Ventura to file charges against policemen who detained his 11-year-old son in connection with the bomb blast in Makati City.

"As far as we are concerned, we did nothing wrong. It’s up to General Ventura what actions to take and we are willing to present our side in court," Aglipay said in a radio interview.

Aglipay stressed that Ventura’s son, a fifth grade pupil, was loitering in the parking lot of the Glorietta mall and made police suspect that he may have been a "lookout" for the bombers.

The bomb, planted near the Dusit Hotel, exploded in the hands of two bomb experts before they could defuse it at an abandoned gasoline station nearby. Police suspect that the bomb was detonated by remote control.

Aglipay said that when Southern Police District chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Cabingon informed him that Ventura’s son was under police custody, he directed Cabingon to call and inform Ventura.

Ventura, however, claimed that the security guards of Dusit Hotel and the Makati police mistreated the 11-year-old boy. He said he was preparing to file charges in court.

Ventura, closely associated with former President Fidel Ramos, also claimed that Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Jejomar Binay tried to "bribe" his son with P2,000 when he was detained at the Makati police station.

In a statement, Binay said that he was told that the 11-year-old boy "appeared to know more than what he initially told security guards and policemen at the scene."

Binay said his curiosity was aroused when the boy allegedly told the police that "someone gave him P200 for his ‘services’."

"If it were true that someone gave the boy P200 for his services, then P2,000 is a small amount if it would help the police uncover the truth," Binay said in his statement.

Financial assistance for victims

At the same time, some survivors of the bombings renewed their call for financial assistance for their mounting hospital bills.

The family of Isaias Benavidez Jr. appealed to First Lady Luisa Ejercito Estrada for assistance.

Benavidez, 36, of Antipolo, Virac, Catanduanes, is still in critical condition at the burn unit of the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center and was among the seriously wounded in the LRT bombing.

He sustained burns of the face, wounds on his upper extremities and inhalational injury in addition to deep wounds on his lower extremities.

The victim’s brother Roger called on Mrs. Estrada for any form of assistance as Isaias will undergo a long process of healing.

To help other victims, the People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP) launched a fund drive to provide assistance to the victims of the blasts.

The fund drive is intended to alleviate the suffering of the victims of the tragedy, both the fatalities and those still fighting for their lives in different hospitals.

PMAP national spokesman Ronald Lumbao told a press conference that followed the launching of the fund drive that his group will receive all forms of assistance, whether cash or in kind. — With reports from Non Alquitran, Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy, Benjie Villa