Ex-mayor charged for Batasan blast
Police have charged a former Basilan town mayor with four counts of murder and multiple counts of frustrated murder in connection with the bombing of the House of Representatives on Nov. 13.
Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said yesterday former Tuburan, Basilan mayor Harijun Jamiri was included in the amended complaint filed before the Department of Justice.
“Jamiri was one of the John Does and our investigators have already made an amendment to the complaint and included Jamiri as one of the suspects,” he said.
Police investigators found evidence to link Jamiri to the attack on the Batasang Pambansa, which heavily damaged the south wing of the building, Razon said.
Jamiri was earlier caught in Malate,
He later led police detectives to an apartment where a bomb was kept.
Police said the second bomb was to be used in “Plan B,” wherein the explosive would be planted in the house of Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar in Valle Verde in
Akbar was killed in the bombing of the legislative building.
Investigators said Jamiri hid the bomb in a hole under a steel cabinet in his apartment in Malate.
Like the bomb that exploded at the House of Representatives, the second bomb had pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) as the detonating cord, Trinitrotoluene (TNT) as the main charge and nails as secondary fragmentation that could inflict death and injuries on victims, police said.
The bomb would also be loaded on a motorcycle and be triggered by a cellular phone, police added.
Police earlier charged Khaidar Awnal, Ikram Indama, Adham Kusain, and Benjamin “Jang” Hataman with four counts of murder and multiple counts of frustrated murder before the DOJ.
Sources said the names of more than two other suspects would be revealed on Nov. 29 at the continuation of the preliminary investigation on the case.
Police managed to establish their identities in the course of the investigation, especially after the successful raid in Payatas in
Razon said police have yet to consider as suspects or mastermind former Basilan congressman Gerry Salapuddin, Anak Mindanao party-list Rep. Mujiv Hataman and his brother Jim.
In his sworn affidavit, Indama, one of the arrested suspects, named Salapuddin and the Hataman as the ones who ordered and planned the killing of Akbar.
Investigators said they have already completed the “picture of the case,” from the planning to the execution and to the effort to hide the second bomb.
“We believe we have an airtight case against those behind the attack,” said a veteran investigator.
“We are confident that prosecutors will find probable cause to warrant the filing of the case in court against the suspects.”
Glorietta gas blast findings disputed
In the Glorietta explosion, a waste expert said methane gas from the pozo negro or septic tank could not have caused the blast at the shopping mall in
Engineer Rogelio Rotoni, former director of the National Irrigation Authority and former resident engineer at Magat Dam told The STAR methane buildup inside a septic tank is very minimal as water does not interact with oil and waste.
“Water and oil do not mix so it’s unlikely that the gas explosion referred to by investigators came from the sump pit,” he said.
Rotoni, who underwent intensive training in water resource management and treatment in the US and Thailand, said had gas accumulated at the basement of Glorietta 2, it would seek outlets and would not explode unless triggered by a spark or explosives.
Most gas explosions come from a natural gas leak, which would make implausible the police theory because there is no natural gas pipe line in
Rotoni said a gas explosion is accompanied by balls of fire because methane or natural gas is highly flammable, and that the damage would be concentrated in the soft areas and outlets of the building.
“Like water seeking its level, gas also seek outlets and soft areas for escape,” he said
Asked what could have caused the Glorietta blast, Rotoni said he cannot give any theory or explanation because he has not seen the basement of the building.
Rotoni said a process that would separate waste from water could treat water waste generated by household including human waste.
“You can even drink water from the sump pit if it’s treated,” he said.
Rotoni said although the chemical elements of water are hydrogen and oxygen, it would take a special process or an addition of another component to make it explode.
“Chemical experts can separate hydrogen from oxygen, but it’s a complicated process that can be done in laboratories and will not happen naturally inside a pozo negro,” he said. – with Perseus Echeminada
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