Confessed bomber to change guilty plea

Self-confessed bomber Hadji Saifullah Yunos, alias Muklis — once considered one of the toughest and best-trained in terrorist tactics of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — has indicated his intention to recant his guilty plea.

Yunos pleaded guilty to the deadly Dec. 30, 2000 bombing of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Blumentritt station in Manila.

Regardless of Yunos’ plea, however, State Prosecutor Peter Ong is confident the government can ensure Yunos’ conviction on multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges for the bomb attack.

"We have the same set of evidence to be presented in court, which we believe would prove (Yunos’) guilt," Ong said.

"I heard Muklis (Yunos) has a new lawyer, who told him to change his plea," Ong said. "Although (this change of plea) would delay the presentation of the evidence, it doesn’t matter. He is the one who is locked up in jail."

Besides Yunos, others charged for the five almost simultaneous bomb attacks on Rizal Day 2000 that rocked Manila, Quezon City and Makati City include escaped Jemaah Islamiyah bomber Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, Abubakar Bafana Faiz, Isamuddin Riduan, alias Hambali; Mohamad Amir, Ustad Sail, Alim Pangalian, Zainal Paks, Salman Moro, Sammy Arinday and a certain Colonel Torres.

Only Yunos is in local police custody, after Al-Ghozi escaped from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Intelligence Group jail at Camp Crame, Quezon City last July 14.

The other suspects in the Rizal Day blasts, which killed 22 people in separate attacks throughout the metropolis, are the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Manila regional trial court.

Yunos and his companion, Dia’a Algabre, were arrested by the PNP Intelligence Group at the Cagayan de Oro airport last May 25.

He faces criminal charges in connection with the Rizal Day bombings and the August 2000 bombing of the Jakarta residence of then Ambassador to Indonesia Leonides Caday.

The car bomb placed in the undercarriage of Caday’s car killed his driver and an Indonesian bystander and critically wounded the envoy.