Batasan probe helping in fight vs Abu Sayyaf – DND chief

DAVAO CITY — Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the ongoing investigation on the blast that ripped through the south wing of the Batasan complex, which killed Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar and three others, has in a way helped in the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf.

“Basically, it did help in the fight against the Abu Sayyaf because the suspects who were caught were reported to be Abu Sayyaf members,” Teodoro told The STAR.

Akbar was said to be a founder of Abu Sayyaf who had a falling out with his comrades.

Police theorized he was the lone target of the blast reportedly carried out by suspected Abu Sayyaf members.

Three suspected terrorists killed in an ensuing raid in Payatas, Quezon City were also said to be Abu Sayyaf members. The raid also led to the arrest of three individuals reported to be members of the same group, one of whom was a certain Ikram Indama, who admitted to have parked the bomb-laden motorcycle at the south wing of the Batasan complex minutes before the explosion.

Teodoro explained that the fight against the Abu Sayyaf will continue, as terrorism remains to be the biggest security problem hounding government.

“The Armed Forces shall continue with its relentless drive against the Abu Sayyaf,” said Teodoro, who was with the party of President Arroyo that recently arrived here to assess the damage brought about by typhoon “Lando” and to oversee relief operations in affected areas in the south.

The Abu Sayyaf is suspected to be behind the spate of bombings and kidnappings in the past.

Teodoro likewise said the military is ready to provide security for those who need it, including members of Akbar’s family.

“We shall provide security for the governor of Basilan, the mayor of Isabela, Lamitan and the others who need it,” Teodoro said.

The defense chief said security shall be provided for Akbar’s first wife Basilan Gov. Jum Akbar, who filed the complaint against the suspects in the Batasan blast, as well as for his other relatives who are also in public office.

With the killing of three suspected Abu Sayyaf members and the capture of three others in a Quezon City raid, the police deemed the Batasan blast a “closed” case.

Authorities had previously expressed doubts that the Batasan incident was linked to terrorism, saying only deceased Basilan Rep. Akbar appeared to be the lone target.

Former congressman and losing Basilan gubernatorial candidate Gerry Salapuddin had showed up at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame to clear his name in the bombing after one of the three Abu Sayyaf members captured in the police operation in Payatas on Thursday turned out to be his former driver.

A source from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said the former Basilan lawmaker had issued a statement and denied any hand or possible involvement in the bombing.

Salapuddin, in previous interviews over radio and television, admitted that Indama was his driver for three years. He added Indama has relatives who are hardcore Abu Sayyaf members like Furuji Indama, one of the suspects in the beheading of Marines in Basilan on July 10.

Akbar, a former governor of Basilan, is a known political foe of the Salapuddins.