Suspects in DLSU blast may face frustrated murder raps — SC exec

The suspects behind last Sunday's explosion after the Bar examinations may face frustrated murder charges, Supreme Court administrator Jose Midas Marquez said Wednesday. At a news briefing, Marquez also said the perpetrators may also face charges of physical injuries for the blast, which left more than 40 people hurt and even caused the amputation of a law student's legs. Authorities earlier said it was a grenade, not a pillbox, that exploded outside the De La Salle University Campus in Manila. University of the Philippines law professor Theodore Te also said that based on the magnitude of the blast, the suspects intended to kill their targets. "Criminal cases can range from frustrated murder, physical injuries... And of course there is the administrative concerns," Marquez said. The Supreme Court has administrative supervision of the conduct of the yearly Bar exams. On Wednesday, Chief Justice Renato Corona issued Memorandum Order No. 45-2010 creating the committee that will hold the parallel investigation on the explosion. Parallel inquiry Marquez said Corona wanted a parallel inquiry so the Supreme Court will not be limited by the developments in the inquiries done by the government investigators. "The court would like to be in complete control of the investigation," said Marquez. Associate Justice Martin Villarama jr. was appointed chair, with Associate Justice Jose Mendoza as his assistant. The other members include: deputy Clerk of Court and Bar Confidant Cristina Layusa, Philippine Association of Law Schools chair Dean Perry Pe, NBI Metro Manila regional director Constantino Joson, MPD Special Investigation Task Group head Supt. Francisco Gabriel, Supreme Court security head Maj. Eduardo Escala, Association of Law Students of the Philippines official Charlotte Silungan. The committee will convene on Thursday and has until October 15 to complete its inquiry. The recommendations will be then submitted to Corona. The court's newly-formed panel will have no conflict with the ongoing investigation by the Manila Police District and the National Bureau of Investigation, Marquez said. He added that MPD officer-in-charge Chief Supt. Roberto Rongavilla and NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula both welcomed Corona's move to create the committee to conduct a parallel probe. He added tha the SC committee, the NBI, and the police will "harmonize" their findings to come up with a strong recommendation on the filing of charges. "All these will be harmonized. I personally spoke with General Rongavilla and NBI Director Gatdula. Both of them welcomed the creation of this committee," Marquez said. Leads He also said that the court has received leads on the fraternity or fraternities responsible for the violence. However, he declined to divulge these pending confirmation. "Prior to the creation [of the panel], we have been receiving initial reports also but these will have to be verified yet. There were eye-wittesses who have come forward and have been interviewed," Marquez said. A suspect in the explosion, Jed Carlo Lazaga, a 4th year law student of the University of San Jose Recoletos Law School in Cebu province, had denied any hand in the incident after eyewitness tagged him as the one who planted a fragmentation grenade. Instead, Lazaga accused the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity of mugging him on suspicion he was behind the blast. DOJ chief's sorority and its partner fraternity After the blast, warring fraternities allegedly threw bottles at each other, causing more chaos and resulting in more injured victims. Anonymous reports being circulated have tagged San Beda law school's Lambda Rho Beta fraternity in the bottle-throwing. The fraternity is the partner of Lambda Rho Simga sorority, which was co-founded by incumbent Justice Secretary Leila de Lima when she was still studying law at San Beda. On Wednesday, De Lima said she will check whether the fraternity was involved in the incident. In case it is, she will inhibit from investigations should the matter reach the Department of Justice. "I'm a co-founder and member of the Lambda Rho Sigma, sister sorority of Lambda Rho Beta fraternity. I'll check with the NBI if Lambda Rho Beta is involved," she told reporters. "[If the fraternity is involved], it will not prevent anything, or anybody, or any group to investigate because I'm not part of any committee investigating. I always have the option to inhibit if I see conflict of interest, out of delicadeza," De Lima said. — RSJ, GMANews.TV