Meanwhile, President Arroyo ordered yesterday the release of two of three other Indonesians held in jail on charges of illegally possessing explosives upon Indonesia’s request.
As in his terrorism trial last Thursday, Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, 31, pleaded guilty to the charge hoping to get a lighter sentence.
"Since you pleaded guilty voluntarily, the court will no longer conduct the trial, and instead sentence you in accordance with the law," Judge Hakim Abdulwahid of the Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court Branch 16, told the defendant.
A gloomy Al-Ghozi listened when the sentence was handed down. He was also ordered to pay a fine of P120,000.
Intelligence officials said Al-Ghozi was an explosives expert for the Jemaah Islamiyah, an extremist group allied with alleged Saudi terrorist financier Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.
His father Mohammad Zainuri, 64, was on hand to watch the trial. "He has been a good boy," Zainuri said about his son, speaking through an interpreter. "He is a preacher, an Islamic teacher. I do not believe he is linked to al-Qaeda."
Security was tight with dozens of heavily armed police commandos standing guard inside and outside the courthouse. A bomb squad with sniffer dogs checked the premises before the proceedings began. Police even used a dummy as a decoy to throw off reporters while Al-Ghozi was spirited away after the trial.
Prosecutors said Al-Ghozi obtained two Philippine passports from the Department of Foreign Affairs consular office in Zamboanga.
The first passport, with serial number GG672613, was obtained on Jan. 19, 2001, under the name Randy Adam Alih.
Documents showed that Al-Ghozi claimed to be a native of Basilan and had a temporary address in Sta. Barbara, Zamboanga City.
On May 16 the same year, Al-Ghozi obtained another passport, with serial number HH150275, under the name Sammy Sali Jamil.
"Based on the evidence at hand, we believe that it is advisable for the defense counsel to have his client plead guilty to seek leniency in the amount of sentence to be given," said Justice Undersecretary Manuel Teehankee.
"The use of false passports is a very serious crime, and prosecution of offenders of these types of crimes is very important in the war against terrorism, since this is how they are able to travel from country to country," he said.
Meanwhile, Acting Press Pecretary Silvestre Afable said no less than Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and Indonesian parliament deputy speaker Andi Tafwa requested the release of Tamsil Linrung and Abdul Jamil Balfas. Tafwa even flew to Manila yesterday to personally relay Jakarta’s request.
"This release was requested by the highest executive and legislative officials of their country. It was a decision made in the interest of diplomatic goodwill," Afable said.
Afable said Justice Secretary Hernando Perez had recommended their release after government prosecutors said there was lack of evidence against them. However, the third suspect, Agus Dwirkana, is still being investigated.
Police claimed they found bomb-making materials in the suspects’ luggage when they were arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 13.
The suspects claimed that the evidence was planted. Linrung said he saw police plant bomb-making material and claimed he was framed to discredit Indonesian presidential hopeful Amien Rais, reports from Jakarta have said. Linrung was formerly treasurer of Rais’s National Mandate Party.
They were also accused of meeting Al-Ghozi, which they denied. Last Thursday, Al-Ghozi was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the General Santos City regional trial court for illegally possessing over a ton of explosives.
He pleaded guilty to that charge, hoping to get a lighter sentence. The explosives charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Al-Ghozi was also ordered to pay a fine of P200,000.
Al-Ghozi was arrested in Quiapo, Manila, by police and military intelligence agents acting on a tip from Singapore police in January.
He then gave information that led to the discovery of 1,000 kilos of TNT, 300 detonators and rolls of detonating cord buried in a backyard in General Santos City.
Authorities said he was behind a series of deadly bomb blasts in Metro Manila in December 2000 that killed at least 22 people and wounded a hundred others, a charge Al-Ghozi denied. But in an affidavit, he said he planned the bombings with Filipino and foreign Muslims.
Regional intelligence officials have said Al-Ghozi had also planned a bombing campaign against US and Western targets in Singapore, as well as the Israeli embassy.
He is believed to be the first foreigner to be accused and convicted on charges of terrorism in the country after the Philippine government joined the United States’ campaign against terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks. — With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Christina Mendez