Suspect in Bar exam blast denies lobbing grenade

UPDATED 12:20 p.m. — A suspect in the September 26 Bar examinations explosion denied his involvement in the crime after he was brought to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for questioning on Wednesday. According to Vice-President Jejomar Binay and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, the suspect, Anthony Leal Nepomuceno, maintained his innocence. Nepomuceno, a call center agent, graduated from the Manuel L. Quezon University. He belongs to the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity. The suspect is accused of being the one who lobbed the grenade during the traditional Salubong, wherein well-wishers, law students, and relatives greet Bar examinees after taking the test. More than 40 people were hurt in the incident, including San Sebastian College law student Raissa Laurel who lost her legs. No detention De Lima said the suspect will not be detained yet because no formal charges have been lodged against him. Still, she said Nepomuceno's lawyers assured them that the suspect would cooperate in the investigation. "Pwede siyang lumabas anytime. I leave it to the NBI kung ano ang next step (Nepomuceno can go anytime now. I leave it to the NBI to take the next steps)," said De Lima. She added that while Nepomuceno claimed he is innocent, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has strong evidence to implicate him as the grenade-thrower because of several eyewitness accounts. "[The pieces of evidence] are strong enough because there are eyewitnesses and sworn statements," said De Lima. She also said the suspect was brought to the NBI clandestinely so that he will not be "paraded before the media." "He has a constitutional right of presumption of innocence," she added. Same fraternity Binay facilitated Nepomuceno's surrender because they belong to the same fraternity. De Lima said Binay only learned that the suspect was an APO member on Tuesday. "I called the Vice-President and he told me that he will try to ask his fraternity and see what he can do to help," De Lima said at a news briefing. She claimed that she was surprised to learn from Binay this morning that their group would turn over Nepomuceno to authorities. De Lima also said she will ask the NBI to determine whether members of the APO fraternity had coddled the suspect before he surrendered to Binay.
Fraternity war? It remains unclear whether the grenade-throwing outside the De La Salle University campus in Manila after the Bar exams was caused by a fraternity war. However, De Lima on Wednesday said a fraternity war is "one of the most possible motives, but with a little twist." She added that the investigation will spare no sacred cows even if the suspect is part of a high-profile fraternity. "Wala kaming sasantuhin. The investigation will go through the correct process. It doesn't matter to us who the members of this fraternity are," she said. The justice chief also said the NBI is also monitoring two other possible suspects in the crime. On October 23, De Lima said investigators already know who threw the grenade at the crowd who were part of the traditional "Salubong." Police initially said they were looking into a fraternity war as the motive behind the blast. P1.2 million reward On October 3, the Fraternal Order of Utopia, an Ateneo School of Law fraternity, offered a P200,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the perpetrators of the explosion. Utopia president Tony Bernardo said the reward "will help speed up the investigation." He added the money was contributed by Utopia members. On October 4, a group of businessmen also offered a P1-million reward for information about the suspects in the explosion. NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula told reporters, "that a group of businessmen is offering a P1-million reward." Gatdula, however, declined to identify the group of businessmen. Artist's sketch On October 19, the NBI released the artist's sketch of one of the suspects in the September 26 Bar exam blast. The details included in the sketch described the suspect as:

a 20 to 25-year-old male;

of medium build;

5'6'' to 5'7" in height, and

weighs between 60 to 65 kilograms. The details also provided clues that the suspect wore "long pants, maong; T-shirt, dark polo and low cut sneakers" when the incident occurred. — VVP/RSJ, GMANews.TV