2 other grenade blasts in MManila traced to APO — De Lima

(Updated 2: 20 p.m.) - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said two other grenade attacks in two campuses in Metro Manila were traced by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity. At a news briefing, De Lima said there was a "connection" between the Sept. 26 Bar examinations blast in Manila and the two grenade attacks at the La Consolacion College in Manila in 2008 and at the University of Perpetual Help in Las Pinas City in March this year. She, however, refused to say whether fraternity wars sparked the three incidents. "May I just say for now they (the three blasts) are connected... The authors are connected. We don't want to emphasize the frat war angle. If our investigation is complete, including that for the two previous incidents, then we can already disclose the motive," De Lima told reporters. Asked to confirm whether the APO fraternity was responsible for the two other blasts, De Lima categorically replied, "Yes." Sought for comment, APO elder Ferdie Ramos said it was unfair of De Lima to single out APO members as the culprits behind the two other explosions. "We are saddened by that allegation. We deny that we are involved in the bombings. It seems her objectivity is lost because it is the DOJ that will investigate, and she has already judged us as guilty," Ramos said in a phone interview. "She should be reminded that there is no preliminary investigation (by the DOJ) yet," he added. Bar exams blast Also on Tuesday, De Lima issued an ultimatum to the two other suspects in the grenade explosion after the Bar examinations last September 26 outside the De La Salle University campus. De Lima said that unless the two suspects present themselves to government investigators, the NBI will be pressed to file charges against them. De Lima did not disclose their identities, but hinted that they are APO members who helped key suspect Anthony Leal Nepomuceno escape when he was being mauled after he allegedly threw the grenade. "What I will do now is to relay to them an ultimatum. We know who they are, so we are challenging them to surface for questioning. Otherwise, NBI will now be constrained to file charges," De Lima said. Still, she said the NBI will continue filing the complaint even if the two suspects do not surface. De Lima added that the APO leadership had already "refused to cooperate" with the investigation concerning the two other suspects. Two weeks ago, Nepomuceno surrendered himself to the NBI but denied involvement in the explosion. APO elders like Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Justice chief Silvestre Bello III accompanied Nepomuceno. The NBI has already filed with the Department of Justice a complaint against Nepomuceno for multiple frustrated murder and multiple attempted murder. — RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV