Charges filed vs 3 foreigners

Criminal charges were filed yesterday by the Department of Justice against the three foreigners — an American-Vietnamese, a Swiss-Vietnamese and a Japanese — who were arrested for allegedly plotting to bomb the Vietnamese Embassy in Manila.

State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco filed the charges of unlawful possession of explosives (Republic Act 8294) before the regional trial court of Pasig City against the suspects. The maximum penalty in the case is 20 years imprisonment.

Velasco recommended a P200,000 bail each for the temporary liberty of suspects Vo Van Duc alias Vinh Nyuyen Tan, 41, an American-Vietnamese, Huynh Thuan Ngoc alias Tom, 42, a Swiss-Vietnamese, and Japanese Makoto Ito, 62.

Operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested the foreigners on Aug. 30 following a raid in condominium unit 17 at Sylvana Townhomes in Barangay Sta. Lucia in San Juan, Metro Manila.

Velasco said police found the foreigners in the act of assembling the "explosives, consisting of ammonium nitrates, blasting caps, and electrical wiring," which could cause massive destruction and cause injury to persons, not to mention death.

At the time of the raid, Ito allegedly tried to block the entrance of the policemen. Vo Van Duc and Huynh Thuan Ngoc were reportedly surprised by the riding team while in the process of assembling the explosive devices.

The DOJ did not file charges against the alleged owner of the raided condominium unit, Florida Estrada, who was not arrested during the raid.

The PNP tagged Vo Van Doc as a member of the Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group, said to be the military arm of the Government of Free Vietnam, an organization calling for the liberation of Vietnam from communist rule.

Vo is believed to be the head of an international terrorist cell operating in Manila. The police also said Vo is wanted by the Royal Thai Police for his alleged part in the foild bombing of the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok last June 19, 2001. – Christina Mendez and Delon Porcalla