Police confirm bomb used in Jawo car blast

The explosion that destroyed the car of Pasig City Rep. Robert "Dodot" Jaworski Jr. last Tuesday was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED), police investigators said yesterday.

Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Luizo Ticman said the recovery of a battery and a wire among the five sacks of debris recovered from the crime scene prompted Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD) operatives to conclude that an IED was used in the bombing of Jaworski’s car, a Toyota Innova.

He said EOD operatives reported that the IED was attached to the chassis of the vehicle used by the congressman, his brother ryan and several bodyguards.

Initial reports showed that the chassis of Jaworski’s car was damaged by the explosion.

Ticman also confirmed that initial examination by agents of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) showed the presence of nitrate among particles swabbed by police operatives from the car’s chassis.

He explained though that they need more time to verify their findings on nitrate components.

"We are still soaking swabbed particles and it need more time to confirm the nitrate findings. We will release our findings as soon as possible," he said.

When pressed why smoke first came from under the vehicle before the explosion, Ticman emphasized that the IED could be time-delayed or been remotely-controlled.

At present, the EPD chief said they are still sorting out the remaining debris recovered from the crime scene.

Aside from the car’s debris, Senior Superintendent Federico Terte, EPD’s deputy director for operations (DDO) and concurrent head of Task Force Avoni claimed they also recovered empty shells from an M-16 Armalite rifle and a caliber 9mm pistol at the scene.

Ticman said they are still determining whether the recovered empty shells were part of the IED or from other sources.

Because of the IED findings, Ticman said they are now determining where the improvised explosive was planted on Jaworski’s car.

"We are tracing his (Jaworski’s) movements that day which would help us establish where the improvised bomb was planted and who was the culprit," he said.

Prior to the bombing, Jaworski visited his friend before proceeding to a wake in Barangay Pineda, which his highly populated.

Jaworski, his brother Ryan and driver, Romeo Gamuza were on board the silver Toyota Innova, with license plates ZDA 660, when back-up vehicle driver, Renato Deceles noticed smoke coming out from under the van at about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Jaworski has six security escorts accompanying him in two back-up vehicles.

Deceles signaled Gamuza to stop.

Jaworski and his companions alighted from the van and seconds later the vehicle exploded.

While Jaworski claimed that politics could have something to do with the attempt on his life, Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio said the incident was plain gimmickry by the camp of the congressman to gain public sympathy.

Jaworski has made it known he will ran for mayor of Pasig City in the coming local elections. He will be up against Councilor Bobby Eusebio, a son of Mayor Eusebio.

Meanwhile, Pasig City police chief Senior Superintendent Francisco Uyami Jr., said the elder Eusebio is not yet named a suspect in the incident.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation bared an alleged assassination plot against Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, the House majority leader.

The NBI said that the bureau’s intelligence sources had reported that the house of Nograles had been placed under surveillance by still unidentified suspects for almost a month now.

Nograles’ son Karlo, who is the chief of staff of his father in Congress, said that security for the congressman had been doubled following the report of the death threat. – Non Alquitran, Evelyn Macairan, Edith Regalado