Ex-Army colonel claims he has wick of Glorietta bomb

MANILA, Philippines – Retired Army colonel Allan Sollano revealed yesterday what he described as a key piece of evidence that proves his claim that the Glorietta 2 mall was bombed on Oct. 19, 2007.

In a supplemental affidavit, Sollano said he possesses the wick of an explosive device he recovered from the blast site during an investigation conducted by the Army Explosive and Ordnance Division (EOD) team he headed.

He claimed he has kept the wick – about five inches long – after authorities concluded that the explosion was caused by the accidental leakage of methane gas.

He was supposed to personally swear in the affidavit at the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday at the continuation of the fact-finding investigation into his claims, but failed to do so due to security threats.

His lawyer, Egbert Buenviaje, said Sollano prepared the new affidavit last week but has not signed the document yet. Buenviaje told the investigating panel led by Senior State Prosecutor Peter Ong, that his client told him of “certain security concerns.”

Ong, who was given 45 days or until Dec. 17 to complete the probe and submit a report to Secretary Leila de Lima, gave Sollano another chance to appear before the DOJ panel and present the supposed evidence in the explosion that he had kept from authorities. Buenviaje said his client would attend the next hearing on Dec. 14.

Sollano, in his earlier affidavit, said his superiors ordered him not to release his report during the course of an earlier investigation. Although Sollano did not mention any names in his affidavit, it was already reported that then Army Support Command head and now Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Ricardo David Jr. was one of them. David denied Sollano’s allegation.