EDITORIAL — Get the brains

That was one speedy crime solution, skeptics say, with the suspects stupid enough to leave lying around all the evidence needed to incriminate themselves. Abu Sayyaf terrorists are normally more adept at covering their tracks. Yet there they were, resting in a safehouse near the government complex where they had just set off a bomb that killed a congressman and three employees.

You’d think terrorists would have the good sense to flee ASAP, leaving nothing that would put the cops on their trail. Yet police said they found, in a raid on the suspects’ safehouse near the Batasan complex, evidence including a House uniform, an “8” license plate that is issued to congressmen, ID cards and even a deed of sale for a motorcycle — registered, at that — where TNT was reportedly attached and later set off with a detonator activated by remote control, in this case a cell phone. It was as if the suspects had drawn circles on their chests and taunted cops to go for the bull’s eye. And they did – with three suspects being fatally gunned down during the raid.

Cops rarely get this lucky, so Philippine National Police officials shouldn’t take offense at public skepticism over the solution of the bombing that killed four people including Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar. To dispel public doubts and prove their case, cops should focus on getting the brains behind the attack, which is unprecedented in the country’s history.

Yesterday the Metro Manila police said one of the suspects had detailed how the bombing, with Akbar as the principal target, was carried out. But suspect Ikram Indama either fell short of identifying the mastermind or the cops aren’t talking. So far the executive secretary himself has cleared Akbar’s political rival, former Basilan Rep. Gerry Salapuddin. Another rival, party-list Rep. Mujiv Hataman, also denied involvement yesterday.

With one of the alleged Abu Sayyaf suspects talking, it shouldn’t be long before the PNP identifies the mastermind and determines the motive. Once the full picture is presented, it should be easier for the PNP to persuade a skeptical public that this case is truly closed.