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.

By Gerry Baldo
Daily Tribune
12/03/2007

The investigation of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) into the Batasan bombing could be in serious doubt even as the alleged suspects in the crime refused to sign their alleged affidavits implicating Anak Mindanao Rep. Mujiv Hataman and his brother and former Deputy Speaker Gerry Salapuddin.

According to Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, a lawyer by profession, the police would find it difficult to prove their theory when the suspects declined to sign their alleged sworn statements.

Nograles, head of the House contingent to the Commission on Appointments, said proving the case against Hataman and Salapuddin would be a completely different ballgame than accusing and filing charges against them in court.

“This is a legal problem. It’s easy to accuse but this may be hard to prove, especially if the witnesses are not sure about what they are saying,” Nograles yesterday said.

Former Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Abdulgani “Gerry” Salapuddin and Representative Hataman and his brother Jim Hataman, all from Basilan, were charged by the police as “principals by inducements” in the Batasan bombing that killed Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar and three other legislative staff members.

But the alleged suspects, including former Tuburan Mayor Harijun Jamiri of Basilan, Ikram Indama and Kahidal Awnar, had refused to sign their sworn statements during the preliminary investigation conducted by the Department of Justice last Thursday. The police had allegedly refused to allow the suspects a lawyer of their own choice.

In the questionable affidavit, which was prepared by a lawyer supplied by the police for Jamiri, Representative Hataman was alleged to have given the suspect P5,000 as initial payment to kill Akbar.

Eduardo Aribas, counsel for Jamiri, said it is now clear his client is refuting the affidavit which was prepared by the police-supplied lawyer.

Citizens Battle Against Corruption Rep. Joel Villanueva appealed to the police to do their job properly so that there would be no innocent individuals who would suffer as a consequence of their acts.

“Hindi maganda na ang kanilang suspects mismo ang ayaw pumirma sa kanilang affidavit. Negatibo ang dating niyan sa kanilang kredebilidad,” Villanueva said.

We, the undersigned, National Council Officers of ANAK MINDANAO (AMIN) PARTY LIST, assembled for our Regular Council Meeting in Dipolog City on November 25-26, 2007, believing in good faith, do hereby declare the following:

    1. We strongly condemn as a dastardly and heinous criminal act the bombing at the Batasan Complex on November 13, 2007 which resulted in the death of Marcial Taldo, Maan Gale Bustaliño, Julasiri Hayudini and Rep. Wahab Akbar of Basilan, and the wounding of several others;

    2. Anak Mindanao Party List in principle and as per resolution of its National Council strongly denounces violence and condemns acts of terrorism used by any entity to advance their interests. In the same resolution, AMIN Party List reiterates that it will not accept or tolerate in its membership anyone who is affiliated with any organization that uses violence as a strategy to pursue their agenda.  

    3. AMIN Party List finds incredulous and absurd the direct accusations and implied insinuations made against its Representative to Congress, Hon. Mujiv Hataman as being behind the bombing. One of the requirements in qualifying for nomination as candidate in our Party is adherence to the principles mentioned above. AMIN Party List had elected Mujiv S. Hataman as its representative because of his avowed advocacy to peace and human rights which he consistently stood for as a youth leader, as he does now as a legislator.

    4. We believe that the dragging of the name of AMIN Party List Representative, Hon. Mujiv S. Hataman into the Batasan Bombing incident is completely baseless and is pursued only by groups or individuals who are using the unfortunate incident to advance their political and personal interests. These groups and individuals deserve nothing more than our contempt and condemnation.

    5. Finally, we reaffirm without any reservation our full confidence in and support for Hon. Mujiv S. Hataman as our representative in the House of Representatives.

Anent to this, we are forwarding the following calls:

    1.Justice for all those who perished and were injured during the Batasan Bombing, and also for those who might fall victim to unjust persecution brought about by this incident.  

    2.May government agencies mandated to conduct an investigation into the incident work towards a credible, fair, just and impartial result, to prevent any innocent civilians from becoming victims of hearsay and unproven testimonies of individuals whose credibility is tainted with malice and deceitful conduct, that due process and respect for civil and human rights is truly observed without fear or favour.

    3.We enjoin the investigators and all concerned to get to the bottom of this dastardly act, and to give due consideration to all angles in this case.

Let due process and justice be truly served.

(SGD) OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL, ANAK MINDANAO (AMIN) PARTY LIST

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