Saturday, August 21, 2004 3 blast suspects plead not guilty By Raquel C. Bagnol
* Suspects earlier admitted to the crime only after they were allegedly forced and tortured, lawyer Hamlet Pahm says
THREE of the five suspects arrested for the twin bombings in Davao City last year which killed 37 people and wounded 170 others pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges during Thursday's arraignment.
The arraignment was made despite the pending motion for reconsideration before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The suspects who were identified as 19-year-old Tohami Bagundang, Esmael
Mamalangkas and Ting Idar pleaded not guilty to the non-bailable charges of multiple and frustrated multiple murder during their arraignment before RTC Judge Paul T. Arcangel of Branch 12.
Lawyer Hamlet Pahm, the counsel of the suspects and president of the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cotabato and Maguindanao chapters, earlier filed a two-page motion asking the court for an arraignment of his clients without waiting for the motion for reconsideration to be resolved by the DOJ.
"They wanted to be arraigned because they were already tired of staying in jail for more than a year," Pahm said.
Arcangel set the pre-trial on August 27.
One of the five suspects, Toto Akmad was arraigned ahead of the others and pleaded not guilty in May with the assistance of his counsel Vincent Calatrava.
Bagundang and 17-year-old Jimmy (surname withheld for being a minor) earlier executed extra-judicial testimonies and denied culpability in the twin Davao bombings.
The suspects also filed separate affidavits and claimed police authorities allegedly tortured them and forced them to admit the crime they did not commit.
Pahm supported the claim of the four suspects and added that his clients admitted committing the crime only after they were allegedly forced and tortured.
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