Batasan blast: Ex-mayor charged for possession of explosives

MANILA, Philippines - A former mayor of Basilan town mayor tagged by the authorities as the one of those behind the November 13 Batasan explosion that killed Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar and five others was charged Thursday before a Manila regional trial court (RTC) for illegal possession of explosives. Charged was Jamiri Hajirun y Usman, the former mayor of municipality of Tuburan, Basilan and a resident of 538 Quezon Boulevard, Lamitan, Basilan and 671 San Andres St., Malate, Manila. The case was based on information gathered during the November 20 , 2007 police raid in Malate, Manila. The illegal possession rap was filed by Assistant Prosecutor Dennis Aguila after he found probable cause that warranted the filing of violation of Section 2 of Republic Act 8294 (Illegal possession of explosives) against Hajirun. Aguila elevated the case before the Manila RTC on May 15, 2008. Bail recommended was placed at P200,000. Records show that Hajirun was initially arrested on Nov. 9, 2007 after a police raid recovered a .45 caliber pistol and bullets during the Nov. 9 raid on Hajirun's house in San Andres St., Malate, Manila. A few days later, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) received reliable information that Hajirun was one of the persons who have direct knowledge in connection with the bombing incident in Batasan Pambasan that killed Akbar and others. With this information, the PNP –CIDG investigated anew Hajirun on November 20, 2007 with the assistance of his lawyer Confessor B. Sansano, Integrated Bar of the Philippines- Quezon City Chapter. During the investigation, Hajirun executed a written confession admitting that he has in his possession of an improvised explosive device (IED) which was given by a certain Redwan Indama during the Ramadan in Filinvest, Quezon City. The explosive was supposedly to be used to bomb the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. Hajirun also said that the owner of the house agreed to let his place used as safekeeping of the explosive for a consideration of P5,000. With the revelation, a team from National Capital Region and Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (NCR-CIDU) was dispatched to recover the explosive. The explosive was found in the house of one Hadji Momar on Leveriza St., Malate, Manila. Examination conduced by the PNP on the explosive yielded positive for trinitroluene (TNT) and Tetryl, classified as high explosives. In an information, Aguila cited that the extra-judicial confession can be used against him. “With the explicit admission of respondent that he had in his possession an improvised explosive device (IED) which he temporarily kept at the house of one Hadji Momar on Leveriza St., Malate, Manila couple with the facts narrated by him which are replete with details that led to the recovery of the explosives justify our findings of probable cause," said the prosecutor. - GMANews.TV