PHOTO BY JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net
The two suspects who planted an improvised explosive device (IED) a few meters from the US Embassy in Manila initially attempted to carry out a bomb attack at Luneta Park, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa revealed on Thursday.
Dela Rosa presented in a press conference at Camp Crame two members of the Jihadist group Ansar Al-Khalifa they arrested for placing a homemade bomb near the American Embassy along Roxas Boulevard last Monday.
Jiaher Guinar, 30, and Rayson “Rasid” Kilala were arrested in separate police operations in Caloocan City and Bulacan province, respectively, on Wednesday.
READ: Man suspected of leaving IED near US embassy arrested
During the debriefing with the police, Dela Rosa said Guinar and Kilala confessed their participation in placing the IED inside a trash bin.
The terror group members attempted to detonate a bomb at the crowded Luneta Park the night before the explosive was found but they failed.
“Bothered by their conscience,” Dela Rosa said the suspects transferred the package along Roxas Boulevard.
READ: IED found in US Embassy same used in Davao blast—NCRPO
“Mga 2:30 a.m. nilagay pero gabi pa lang sa Luneta nag attempt na sila doon. Pumalpak lang. Una radio daw ‘yung triggering device, pumalpak. Then pinalitan nila ng sim card ‘yung cellphone, pumalpak din so nag move sila. Pumunta ng Roxas Boulevard doon na nila nilagay sa basurahan,” he said.
(They placed the IED [near the US Embassy] around 2:30 a.m. but they also attempted to bomb Luneta the night before, but it failed. First, the radio was used as a triggering device, but it failed. Then, they change the sim card of the cellphone, but it also failed so they moved to another place. They went to Roxas Boulevard and they placed it inside the trash bin.)
Police recovered the cellphone Kilala intended to use as a triggering device.
Dela Rosa said police are still hunting down three of their accomplices.
“We presume nakauwi na rin sa Mindanao itong tatlo pero merong slim chance na baka nandito pa. Patuloy pa nating hinahanap (We presume that these three have gone home to Mindanao but there is still a slim chance that they are here. We are still looking for them),” he said.
He said Guinar and Kilala, along with three others, travelled to Manila and managed to sneak in bombs by hiding them under a stack of pillows inside the Toyota Revo they were riding as it passed through a checkpoint.
Criminal complaints for violations of Republic Act No. 10951 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and Republic Act. No. 9516 or the Illegal Possession of Explosives are being readied against the suspects.
They will also be charged with Conspiracy to Commit Terrorism under Republic Act No. 9352 or the Human Security Act, at the City Prosecutor’s Office in Manila. /rga