|
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Ex-PNP officer yields, admits planting bombs
By Jonathan Fernandez
MANILA -- A former police senior inspector who admitted planting bombs in various areas in Metro Manila and who surrendered to authorities last week was presented to media Monday.
Roberto Camarista's surrender had led to the arrest of his alleged financier, identified as Bin Sim.
Camarista, who was dismissed from police service for being absent without official leave (Awol), surrendered to Assistant Defense Secretary Ricardo Blancaflor in Bulacan.
The Department of National Defense (DND) presented Camarista and Sim to the media in Camp Aguinaldo Monday afternoon.
Police said Camarista surrendered to authorities because he feared for his life.
Camarista admitted planting an improvised bomb at the DND building in Camp Aguinaldo, beside the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) building in Quezon City, and in the compound of the Sanctuario de San Antonio Church in Makati City last June 21 and 22.
Authorities arrested Sim, Camarista's alleged financier, in a follow-up operation. Camarista implicated Sim in the crime during a tactical interrogation.
Blancaflor, in an interview, said with the capture of the two suspects, tension in Metro Manila brought about by the destabilization effort against the Arroyo government will certainly subside.
He said they are still conducting pursuit operations against other people involved in the bomb scare. They are also determining whether there are political groups behind the bombing attempts.
Three people who were arrested in a raid conducted by a combined military and police team on a hideout in Cainta, Rizal, a day after a bomb was discovered in Makati City last June 22, pinpointed to Camarista as the leader of the group.
The three were identified as Dante Fuertes, Antonio Mercader and Rollie Pillado, caretakers of Camarista's safehouse located at Executive Village Brookside Subdivision, Barangay San Isidro, Cainta.
The caretakers said Camarista owned the house.
Recovered from Camarista's house were 75 kilos of ammonium nitrate, a large volume of detonating cord, blasting cap, Eveready 9 volts battery, alarm clocks, leg wires C-4 plastic explosives, an M-16 Armalite rifle, homemade shotgun, cans of gasoline, caliber .45 pistol, several rounds of small caliber ammos, other paraphernalia used for making bombs and some political documents.
(June 29, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Flashfloods hit N. Cotabato: 5 dead, 10 missing