Another suspect in Davao blast surrenders

Crime scene investigators process the bombed night market outdoor restaurant in Davao City. Fourteen people were killed and dozens were wounded in the first bombing attack on a civilian area under the Duterte administration. The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the attack. (AP FILE PHOTO)

COTABATO CITY—Another suspect in the Sept. 2 Davao City bombing that left 15 dead and 69 others injured is now in government custody after yielding and admitting his participation, a military official said.

An Army intelligence officer said Jericho de Roma, who claimed to be a member of Dawlah Islamiyah, an affiliate of Maute Group based in Lanao del Sur province, surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) accompanied by his elders and relatives.

Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez, 6th Infantry Division commander, confirmed the surrender of De Roma, 25, on Thursday dawn, raising the number of suspects in government custody to eight.

Galvez said De Roma, a native of Cotabato City, is now undergoing questioning.

He said the pressure exerted by officials of Cotabato City had apparently convinced De Roma to turn himself in.

“We ought to thank the nonuniformed public executives helping the national government address Islamic militancy in this part of the country,” Galvez said in a statement.

Four suspects—Mohammad Chenikandiyil, Jackson Usi, Zack Lopez and Ansan Mamasapano—were arrested in separate police and military operations in Cotabato City and Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao province.

On Oct. 6, their companions, identified as TJ Macabalang, Wendel Facturan and Musali Ampatuan, were arrested by government troops in this city.

De Roma and his relatives went to the office of the CIDG in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Thursday, after government troops searched his house Wednesday night but failed to find him.

The Sept. 2 bombing was among the deadliest terror attacks in Davao City.

A marble marker, etched with the names of the 15 people who died in the blast, was put up in Davao last month.—EDWIN O. FERNANDEZ