Extension of probe on Davao bombings sought

DAVAO CITY – The Presidential Commission tasked to investigate the bombings in Davao City early this year is set to ask for an extension of the period covering the probe as it has to gather more evidence and possibly summon more witnesses.

"We are formally asking the President that the deadline be extended as it is really phy-sically impossible to accomplish our task within the 30-day deadline," Justice Undersecretary Jose Calida told The STAR.

Calida is one of the five members of the commission, headed by Sta. Ana parish priest Fr. Pedro Maniwang.

President Arroyo created the commission, through Administrative Order No. 84, to look into the reported involvement of the military in the bombings as alleged by the junior military officers who staged a mutiny last July 27.

The mutineers pointed to former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus, former head of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) as the primary officers involved in the alleged anomaly.

The bombings hit a crowded waiting shed at the Davao International Airport and a busy row of food stalls at the entrance of the passenger terminal of the Sasa wharf last March 4 and April 2, respectively, leaving 39 people dead and over 200 others wounded.

The panel headed by Maniwang was tasked to investigate if the AFP had a hand in the subsequent bombings of the four Muslim mosques here on April 3.

In seeking an extension of the deadline of the probe, Calida said that the 30 days given to the panel was not enough. "We have to conduct the hearings between Manila and Davao as we have witnesses in both areas. That alone takes so much time," Calida said.

The panel started Tuesday its series of hearings here in Davao City and was supposed to end yesterday but Calida said they still have to gather more evidence as well as look for other possible witnesses.

Calida likewise explained that the panel does not limit its work to hearing testimonies of witnesses but has gone out of its way to look for evidence that would help in the investigation.

"We want to arrive at the truth. We do not want to come out with findings without our really working hard for them," he said.

Calida stressed that the commission is not a judicial inquiry nor is it an adversarial body.

"The panel is a creation of an administrative order and it is not like the ordinary judicial process, so we have waived the strict rules of procedure in order to determine the truth," he added.

Calida said he still does not have any idea yet on what would be the results of the investigation.

"The main thing here is the President is giving it serious consideration. So, it cannot be said that government is not listening to all sectors," he further said.