Suspect in 2010 Zambo airport bombing surrenders

MANILA, Philippines - An alleged suspect in the blast at the Zamboanga City International Airport in 2010 surrendered to officials of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila yesterday.

Addong Salahuddin, who has an outstanding warrant of arrest issued by the Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court Branch 17, yielded to the NBI.

He said threats to his life prompted him to surrender.

Salahuddin, along with several unidentified companions, is facing charges for multiple murder, multiple attempted murder and illegal possession of explosives.

NBI director Virgilio Mendez said Salahuddin surrendered to agency officials on Wednesday morning.

Salahuddin, however, told reporters he had no knowledge of the blast, stressing that he was “bothered by his conscience.”

He said a certain Imam Casim, who was then looking for carpenters, asked him to help in house repairs.

Casim gave a bag to Salahuddin and asked him and a certain “Rey” to leave it at the arrival area of the Zamboanga airport and he would eventually join them.

Salahuddin gave the bag to Rey and they brought it to the arrival area. “But I thought the bag was dangerous,” he said in Visayan dialect.

 “After a minute, it exploded,” he said.

 The blast killed Reynaldo Apilado, said to be a suicide bomber, and Hatimil Yacob, whom Salahuddin later revealed to be his nephew.

The blast also wounded 28 other people, including Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan II.

An NBI agent handling Salahuddin said he would still be interrogated.

Mendez said the bureau is still gathering testimonies and other supporting evidence to strengthen the case against Salahuddin.

It may, however, consider him either a key subject or a witness, he said.

 “We are looking into similar bombing incidents before and after the Zamboanga blast,” he said.