Warrant readied vs Salapuddin

MANILA, Philippines – Police are ready to serve any warrant of arrest that the court may issue against former Basilan representative Gerry Salapuddin and three others linked to last year’s bombing of the House of Representatives that killed Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar and three other employees and wounded several others.

Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, Philippine National Police spokesman, said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) will arrest Salapuddin as ordered by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

“Once a warrant has been issued, we cannot do anything but to serve it, it will depend on legal discussions later on but the warrant has been released,” he said.

“The PNP will be serving the warrants even if there will be some reports that there are armed supporters of the subjects. We are supported by the different units of the PNP.”

Meanwhile, Salapuddin asked the Quezon City RTC yesterday to quash the warrant of arrest against him.

In an urgent motion before Judge Ralph Lee of RTC branch 83, Mark Perete, Salapuddin’s lawyer, said Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has reversed an earlier amended complaint filed against his client and the three co-accused.

“The justice secretary has already directed the prosecutor to withdraw the information,” Perete said.

Lee set a hearing on the motion today to allow government prosecutors to comment on Gonzalez’s dismissal of the multiple murder complaint against Salapuddin and three others.

Perete told reporters the documents have already been submitted to the court.

“We are exhausting all legal means for the recall of the arrest warrant,” he said.

Bartolome said other PNP units will back up the CIDG in serving of the warrant of arrest on Salapuddin.

Police will arrest Salapuddin despite reports that he has a number of armed supporters, he added.

The Quezon City court has ordered the arrest of Salapuddin, former Tuburan, Basilan mayor Harajun Jamiri, Benjamin Hataman, and Police Officer 1 Bayan Judda, who were implicated in the bombing of the legislative building last Nov. 13.

Police said Judda, who was assigned in Basilan, was allegedly the one who provided the bomb used in the attack on the Batasang Pambansa.

The charges against Salapuddin and three others were anchored on the testimonies of suspects Ikram Indama and Jamiri, who were earlier charged with the same offense.

Police said Akbar, a known political rival of Salapuddin, was the target, but Salapuddin had denied any involvement in the attack.

Police and military agents arrested Indama, Khaidar Awnal and Adham Kusain in a raid in Payatas in Quezon City on Nov. 15 last year, two days after the bombing.

The three were eventually charged along with Benjamin “Jang” Hataman, who alleged triggered the bomb using a cellular phone.

During the raid, Redwan Idaman, his wife Saing and bomb expert Abu Jandal were killed when they shot it out with lawmen. – with Perseus Echeminada