Bar exam blast: Prober: Grenade lobbed accidentally at wrong group

CEBU, Philippines – Victims in the grenade explosion that marred the conclusion of this year's Bar exams in Manila last month appeared to be not the target of the culprit, the investigation showed.

An official of the National Bureau of Investigation privy to follow-up operations and probe revealed they have received information that the suspect lobbed the MK2 type grenade to the wrong group in the crowd participating in the Bar operations on Taft Ave.

"It was accidental in the sense that those who sustained several levels of injuries from the explosion were not really the target," the source told The STAR over the phone yesterday.

"We are now establishing which group the attack was targeted at. We have our lead," the official added.

The NBI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said information they have gathered shows that the primary suspect, whom they earlier identified as Anthony Nepomuceno of Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity, accidentally removed the pin from the grenade while looking for his target.

"Mukhang natakot din siya nung bigla nya'ng natanggal yung pin kaya binato niya nalang sa gitna nung grupong malapit sa kanya (It seems he was also scared when he removed the pin, that's why he just threw it to the center of the group nearest him)," he explained.

Most of the 50 victims are female students from San Beda College of Law, 32 of them also members of college-based Alpha Phi Beta sorority and League of Lady Barristers.

"We are looking at an attack possibly planned by a group, perhaps a fraternity, and everybody knows that it's a no-no for a fraternity to attack a sorority," the source stressed.

Believing the attack was "planned," Justice Sec. Leila de Lima has directed the NBI to establish the motive of the suspect.

She has earlier revealed that investigators were looking at "some sort of fraternity war with a little twist" as possible motive behind the explosion.

Meanwhile, the APB of San Beda also urged the investigators to pursue the probe and get the mastermind behind the attack to serve justice to its wounded members.

Atty. Francisco De Guzman, Alumni Lord Chancellor of the fraternity, said in a statement their organization believes that the Bar blast was not a mere case of "reckless imprudence or pure accident."

He said "it was a meticulously planned, well-orchestrated and perfectly executed conspiracy. From our perspective, its purpose was not just to kill innocent people in cold blood but to sow terror and create a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the legal community."

And for the first time, APB - San Beda publicly condemned the attack.

"We are not blood-thirsty war freaks or limelight-seeking gangsters. It is those who masterminded and executed the bombing who, by such brutal and public attack, have declared war, not only against us, but against the entire legal profession, especially the academe," De Guzman stressed. FPL (FREEMAN)