Salamat faces raps for Davao port blast

DAVAO CITY — Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Hashim Salamat and other key leaders of the separatist movement faced new criminal charges yesterday after they were included among the five suspects indicted for the bombing of Sasa wharf here which left 16 people dead and 57 others wounded last April 2.

In filing the charges of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder with the city prosecutor’s office yesterday, the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) said it included the MILF leaders for having overall command of two of the suspects, Esmael Mamalangkas and Totoh Esmael Akmad.

Both were reported to be guerrillas of the MILF who were arrested by joint police and military agents in Ma-guindanao last weekend.

Their arrest led to the capture of the other suspects — Tohami Bagundang, Jimmy Bulalao and Teng Idar.

The charges were apparently based on the admission made by Bagundang, who his lawyers claimed was only 15 years old.

Bagundang reportedly claimed he was "used" by Mamalangkas and Akmad to run an errand, which later turned out to be a bombing mission.

It was not clear, however, how Bagundang was utilized by the other suspects in carrying out the bomb attack.

One of the witnesses, Corazon Espera-Quirol, provided authorities the lead on the description of the suspects who ordered food from her shortly before the bomb exploded in her chicken barbecue stall.

Quirol, who was among those wounded in the blast, lost five members of her family, including her mother Pablita Espera, two nieces and two nephews.

City Prosecutor Raul Bendigo said they will review the evidence submitted by the CIDG.

Another prosecutor, Augusto Gonzales, received the complaint and would conduct an inquest to determine whether there is enough evidence to elevate the complaint to a court of law.

Warrants of arrest have been issued for Salamat and other MILF leaders over the March 4 bombing of Davao International Airport which killed 22 people, one of them an American missionary, and wounded 159 others.

Among the prominent MILF officials included in both charge sheets were Ghadzali Jaafar, vice chairman for political affairs; Al Haj Murad, vice chairman for military affairs, and spokesman Eid Kabalu.

Kabalu reiterated his denial that the MILF was involved in the wharf bombing and described the allegations as "pure harassment." He also denied the detained suspects were MILF members.

The Davao prosecutor’s office, however, recommended the dropping of charges against the alleged MILF suicide bomber Mustasher Sudang and his relatives.

Authorities earlier tagged Sudang as the bomber sent by the MILF to carry out the bombing mission on the airport.

Sudang reportedly carried a backpack containing the explosives that ripped through a waiting lounge at the airport. He was among those who perished in the bombing.

Sudang’s relatives, including his father and uncle, were arrested on suspicions of aiding the suspect in carrying out the bombing mission.

The identification of Sudang as an alleged member of the separatist guerrilla movement provided the authorities the link to file charges against the MILF.

A source in the prosecutors office, however, told The STAR yesterday that lack of sufficient evidence prompted prosecutors to drop the charges against the Sudangs.

"It is not that the conclusion is they’re not guilty at all but based on the evidence present, it does not warrant linking them to the case," the source said.

Prosecutors said a totally new angle was presented after Bulalao also admitted their participation in the airport bombing.

This prompted the CIDG to amend the criminal charges and move for the inclusion of Bulalao and the four other suspects in the March 4 airport blast.

Bulalao admitted placing the bomb inside the backpack which he slid under a row of benches at the crowded waiting shed.

He realized that it was a bomb only after he was told by his companions to leave the bag.

Bulalao narrated how he met with the other suspects in Kabuntalan town in Maguindanao, two days before the bombing.

Bulalao said his companions convinced him to go with them to Davao City on March 4 by promising to buy him a new shirt as well as see the sights of the city which he was visiting for the first time.

As soon as they arrived in Davao City, they ate lunch in a restaurant before proceeding to the airport in the afternoon, Bulalao said.

He claimed it was in the airport where he was told to put the backpack and leave it under the row of seats of the waiting shed.

Prosecutors said they might consider placing Bulalao under the Witness Protection Program.

"I have already conferred with the regional state prosecutor who takes charges of the witness protection program and we will evaluate if Bulalao qualifies for the program," prosecutor Bendigo said.

In a related development, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) claimed the spate of bombings in Davao and the subsequent violent incidents in Mindanao were carried out by covert US and Philippine military operatives as "part of the script" to justify the holding of Balikatan 03-1 in Sulu.

In a statement, the CPP accused the Arroyo administration as the "mastermind" in the bombings.

They said the scheme has been motivated by the desperation of the US and the Philippine government to overtake the strong protests against direct participation of foreign troops in combat roles.

The planned joint maneuvers were deferred following protests over the supposed direct participation of US troops against the rebels.

Following the first Balikatan exercises held in the island province of Basilan last year, remnants of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf fled to Sulu.

It was widely expected that Balikatan 03-1 joint military exercises in Sulu would neutralize the Abu Sayyaf who have been kidnapping Christians and foreigners for decades and holding them hostage in the jungles of the island.

The Abu Sayyaf has been linked by both Washington and Manila to the al-Qaeda network of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. The bandit group is still holding four Filipina Christian preachers in the jungles of Jolo, Sulu.

The communists said both the US and Philippine governments are using the Abu Sayyaf as a pretext to launch attacks against the New People’s Army (NPA) and the MILF. – With Benjie Villa, AFP