By: Fidel Jimenez
GMANews.TV
12/04/2007 | 09:16 PM

A party-list lawmaker, one of two high profile personalities tagged as masterminds behind the November 13 blast at the Batasang Pambansa, slammed Tuesday the result of the investigation of the Philippine National Police- Criminal Investigation Group (PNP-CIDG) into the attack.

In his privilege speech, Anak Mindanao Rep. Mujiv Hataman, said he believes that police investigators are executing a “script" to implicate him in the explosion that blew to death five people including his political rival, Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar.

“We all witnessed the incident and how authorities swiftly caught the suspects in Payatas (Quezon City). And how lucky the authorities were when all the [pieces of] evidence that they said were used in plotting the bomb attack are found in the supposed hide out," he said.

But like a telenovela, Hataman said there should be mysteries in the script just like the death of one of the suspects, Abu Jandal, an alleged bomb maker, and the confession of Ridwan Indama, the man who allegedly conspired with the supposed masterminds.

“If only they were still alive, this telenovela is already finished and the truth has come out. But what if the ‘director’ who is all behind this things wanted a different ending?" Hataman asked.

(Privilege Speech of Rep. Mujiv Hataman delivered before the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives, December 4, 2007)

Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi taala wabarakatuhu

It is with utmost regret that I consciously prevent myself from addressing you, honorable members of this most august chamber, as “colleagues”… for ladies and gentlemen, last Thursday, November 29, this representation has been charged with multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder before the Department of Justice, based solely on the words of an Ikram Indama, in the third supplemental statement that he issued, and the retracted statement of former Tuburan Mayor Hajarun Jamiri. By God, I swear that these accusations are not true, but by the maneuver and manipulation of unseen hands, they have succeeded in pulling me down to the lowest rank of criminals, thus, as a respect to you, and to this honored body, I prohibit myself from addressing you as “fellows” o ang tawagin kayo bilang “mga kasama.”  

However, allow me to honor you with the update on the latest script of the telenovela, that is, the House of Representatives bombing. My apologies for the pun, for I know that what we went through when the explosion occurred can never be the subject of a joke… however, as the days and weeks passed, the drama started to unfold, with yours truly slowly being brought into the limelight, my person, gradually molded to be one of the leading characters.

Naging saksi po tayong lahat sa aksidenteng pagkakahuli sa mga suspek sa Payatas, at kung paano maswerteng basta na lang tumambad sa harapan ng ating kapulisan ang lahat ng ebidensiya na magpapatunay na sila nga ang may kagagawan ng pagsabog. Ngunit, tulad ng karaniwang telenovela, upang manatiling may misteryo sa kwento, kinailangang mamatay ang isang Abu Jandal, na sinasabing bomb expert at isang Abu Sayyaf. Namatay rin si Ridwan Indama, na ayon sa mga nahuli ay siyang nakikipag usap at humaharap sa mga masterminds. Kung hindi sana sila namatay, natapos na sana ang kwento, at lumabas na sana ang katotohanan. Ngunit paano kung ang paglabas ng katotohanan ay taliwas sa wakas na gustong mangyari ng director? 

By: Raul S. Beltran
People's Tonight
December 03, 2007 06:53 PM Monday

ONE of the House of Representatives’ legal luminaries foresees a big legal problem after an incumbent congressman and a former House ranking official were linked to last month’s bombing at the Batasan building where Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar and four others were killed and more than 10 others, including two lawmakers, were wounded.
    
Rep. Prospero Nograles Jr. (Lakas, Davao City) said government prosecutors are surely to encounter trouble in prosecuting the case after three supposed witnesses who identified Party-List Rep. Mujiv Hataman of Anak Mindanao and former House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Abdulgani “Gerry” Salapuddin to the incident refused to sign their statements before the Department of Justice.
   
“This is a legal problem. It is easy to accuse but it may be hard to prove an accusation especially if the (supposed) witness is not sure of what he is saying,” said Nograles, leader of the House contingent to the Commission on Appointments.
   
He was referring to the testimonies made at the DoJ last week by former Tuburan, Basilan Mayor Harijun Jamiri, Ikram Indama -- a former driver of Salapuddin -- and Kahidal Awnar who named  Hataman and his brother Jim Hataman and Salapuddin as the alleged masterminds in the blast, that also wounded Representatives Pryde Henry Teves of Negros Oriental and Luzviminda Ilagan of GABRIELA.
   
The three suspects are facing multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges filed by the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group before the CIDG.
   
But Nograles said it would be difficult for the accusers and government prosecutors to pin down Hataman and Salapuddin, who both denied involvement in the incident after they submitted themselves for investigation by the CIDG.
 
Indama and Awnar were arrested by the police during a raid in on a suspected safe house of the Abu Sayyaf group, which is also being linked to the bomb blast, a few days after the incident.