MANILA, Philippines ? He may be considered a criminal in the eyes of witnesses but not to his fraternity ?brods,? who include the country?s second most powerful man.

Anthony Nepomuceno, the man allegedly responsible for the September 26 bar exams explosion that injured 47 people, turned himself in to the National Bureau of Investigation Wednesday, ending a month-long search.

But big shots of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) quickly came to Nepomuceno?s defense, with no less than Vice President Jejomar Binay, their most notable alumnus, accompanying him to the NBI office in Manila.

Binay, along with Silvestre Bello III, a former justice secretary and fellow APO member, echoed Nepomuceno?s claim of innocence despite admitting that they met him only a few hours before he publicly surfaced.

Bello said he was ?morally convinced? that Nepomuceno had no knowledge of the explosion that occurred outside De La Salle University in Manila.

?You can see it in his eyes,? Bello said, adding that their fraternity would never condone the commission of a crime by any of its members.

?We believed him when he said that the accusations against him were not true,? Binay told reporters after turning over Nepomuceno, 27, to NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

?He said it was unfortunate that he was being implicated. But according to our questioning, I think he had nothing to do with it,? the Vice President said, adding that he and Nepomuceno had a ?brod-to-brod talk? before they went to the NBI.

Only ?invited?

At a news briefing Wedneday, De Lima said Nepomuceno was neither under arrest nor in the NBI?s custody.

She said that Nepomuceno had merely been ?invited for investigation? and that he could leave the NBI any time.

She added that Nepomuceno could not be presented to the media ?as respect to his right to presumption of innocence.?

?This is not a case of warrantless arrest. Loosely speaking, this is a surrender but not legally speaking? It?s a voluntary surrender,? De Lima said.

?We have no basis to hold him in custody. He is being questioned. He can go home. His lawyers and his brods said they would make him available during the criminal proceedings,? she said.

De Lima also said any criminal case that the NBI might file against Nepomuceno would have to undergo regular preliminary investigation because he was not caught in the act of committing the crime.

As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, De Lima said NBI investigators were still preparing the case documents and had yet to indict Nepomuceno.

NBI spokesperson Cecillo Zamora Jr. said charges of multiple frustrated murder and multiple attempted murder might be filed Thursday against Nepomuceno at the Department of Justice.

De Lima said she would assign a state prosecutor to ensure the expeditious resolution of the case.

She said President Aquino had instructed her to prosecute those behind the explosion and was keenly monitoring the case.

Support until...

?Vice President Binay and I spoke to our brod,? Bello said. ?He was very emotional. He cried heavily. He denied that he was in the area when the explosion happened.?

Bello said that a group of APO lawyers had volunteered to help Nepomuceno in his legal defense, and that the group had promised De Lima full cooperation in the investigation.

?On the basis of our belief that he is innocent, we will back him all the way. But the moment I see some signals that he?s involved, I will abandon him,? Bello said.

Nepomuceno surfaced a day after De Lima gave the NBI an ultimatum to find him.

Contrary to earlier reports, he is not a law student but a call-center agent with a degree in computer science from Manuel L. Quezon University, Binay said.

On Tuesday, De Lima announced that she was to meet with a ?person??who turned out to be Binay?who could help her convince a group ?protecting? Nepomuceno to surrender him to authorities.

De Lima said Nepomuceno?s mother had initially agreed to surrender him but that she changed her mind on somebody?s advice ?not to cooperate with us.?

De Lima said at least three witnesses had identified Nepomuceno as the man who lobbed a fragmentation grenade at the well-wishers who had gathered for the traditional ?salubong? for bar exam takers.

Quoting a witness? account, De Lima said this is what transpired on that fateful day:

Wearing dark sunglasses and half of his face covered with a handkerchief, Nepomuceno came out of nowhere and threw the grenade at the crowd.

The witness shouted to get the attention of those in the area while pointing to Nepomuceno as the bomber.

Four men accosted Nepomuceno and took turns beating him. But two other men came to his rescue, with one pointing a gun at the others.

?Those two helped the suspect escape,? De Lima said, adding that they were now also the subject of the NBI manhunt.

Despite Nepomuceno?s ?surrender,? De Lima refused to say if the explosion was indeed an offshoot of a frat war.

?It [frat war] was actually strong. It?s just difficult to spell it out now because it might trigger something. It?s one of the most possible motives, but there?s a twist to it,? she said.

A source privy to the government investigation said the motive of those behind the explosion had to do with the ?long-standing rivalry? between APO and Tau Gamma Phi.

The source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, said investigators believed that the person who threw the grenade at the crowd had mistakenly thought his targets were members of Tau Gamma.

The victims turned out to be members of the Alpha Phi Beta and the League of Barristers, the source said.

Bello quoted Nepomuceno as saying that he was in Marikina City to buy a pair of shoes when the explosion occurred.

He said Nepomuceno decided to resign from his call-center job in fear for his safety after NBI agents went to his parents? house in Mogpog, Marinduque.

?He said he was afraid that something might happen to him, so he sought the assistance of our brods,? Bello said.

Malacañang welcomed Binay?s efforts to convince Nepomuceno to surrender to authorities, but stressed that the latter would not be accorded special treatment.

?As promised by the President, we will prosecute ... the people who were responsible for the incident,? Mr. Aquino?s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters at a briefing.

Lacierda was referring to Mr. Aquino?s vow days after the explosion that his administration would get to the bottom of the bomb attack and bring justice to the victims.

According to Lacierda, De Lima informed him on Tuesday that Binay would accompany the suspected bomber to the justice department.

?We commend the effort of the Vice President to be able to convince the bar exam blast suspect to surrender,? he said.

Last month, several members of APO were also tagged in the death of University of Makati student EJ Karl Intia, reportedly a neophyte who succumbed to severe body injuries during the fraternity?s hazing rites in Makati City.

Five APO members were arrested for Intia?s death, but they were later freed after the city prosecutor decided to drop the charges against them.

Interestingly, Makati City police chief Senior Superintendent Froilan Bonifacio is a member of APO. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño