Gun raps for Makati bus bomb suspect

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the indictment of an alleged bomb expert of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) tagged in a bus bombing that killed four people and wounded 14 others in Makati City in January.

In a five-page resolution, the DOJ found probable cause to file charges for illegal possession of explosive devices and firearms against Julane Luganao Sison, alias Ryan Jula.

Sison was arrested before dawn last June 2 in Lucena City, Quezon province while carrying materials for making an improvised explosive device: 17 cell phones, two homemade shotguns, two grenades, and electrical wires.

Sison was apprehended by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Compostela Valley Regional Trial Court Judge Hilarion Clapis Jr. for murder in connection with the killing of Senior Police Officer 2 Rex Takasan in 2008.

The DOJ, however, did not touch on allegations that Sison was the alleged culprit behind the Makati bus bombing last January. Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera clarified that this issue was not material to the preliminary investigation, which only focused on illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

The case against Sison was also filed yesterday before Lucena City regional trial court, according to the fiscal.