NBI: P1-M reward up for info on Bar exam blast

A group of businessmen has offered a P1-million reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the perpetrators of the explosion that marred the celebration after the Bar examinations in Manila on September 26. "The NBI was approached last Saturday. So I'm making the announcement now, that a group of businessmen is offering a P1-million reward," National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Magtanggol Gatdula told reporters on Monday. Gatdula, however, declined to identify the group of businessmen. At least 47 people were injured after a blast marred the last day of Bar examinations on September 26 near the De La Salle University campus along Taft Avenue in Manila. San Sebastian College law student Raissa Laurel lost both of her legs because she was near the grenade when it went off. Jed Carlo Lazaga, a fourth year law student of the University of San Jose Recoletos Law School in Cebu province, was earlier accused as the one who allegedly threw the grenade. However, Lazaga denied the allegation and accused members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity of mugging him on suspicion that he was responsible for the blast. P200,000 reward from Utopia fraternity Aside from the P1-million reward put up by the group of businessmen, the Ateneo Law School's Fraternal Order of Utopia has also offered a P200,000 reward. On Sunday, Utopia president Tony Bernardo said the reward "will help speed up the investigation" into the explosion, where 47 people were injured. He added the money was contributed by Utopia members. "We have advised the National Bureau of Investigation already, and we have coordinated with the Supreme Court investigating panel because one of its members belongs to our fraternity," Bernardo said, but declined to name who among the eight-member SC committee is a Utopian. A report in GMA News' "24 Oras" weekend edition, however, said Chief Justice Renato Corona, Associate Justice Arturo Brion and Associate Justice Roberto Abad are members of the fraternity.

The grenade blast occurred outside the De La Salle University campus along Taft Avenue in Manila, during the traditional Salubong where well-wishers greet the law graduates who have just finished four successive weekends of the grueling Bar exams. Government investigators said they have yet to determine whether the violence was an offshoot of fraternity wars. The NBI and the Manila Police District (MPD) are conducting investigations into the incident. The Supreme Court has already formed an eight-member committee, chaired by Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr., to hold a parallel investigation. The SC-formed committee, whose members also include representatives of the NBI and the MPD, will hold a closed-door meeting later in the day to begin its investigation. – VVP/RSJ, GMANews.TV