Hotel blast victim sneaked out of Davao by FBI?

DAVAO CITY – The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly taken custody of a British-American physician who was severely injured by a blast inside his hotel room here and is facing charges of illegal possession of explosives.

Michael Miering, 60, a British-American oncologist who has supposedly been hunting for treasures in the country for the past 10 years, was feared missing since Sunday from the Davao Doctors Hospital where he was confined for injuries he sustained in the blast.

Miering suffered third-degree burns and had his legs amputated when dynamite he allegedly kept inside his room at the Evergreen Hotel exploded on May 16.

Sources said FBI agents supposedly fetched Miering at the hospital on Sunday without informing local officials who are set to file charges of illegal possession of explosives against him.

Miering, who is reportedly now confined at the Makati Medical Center, was brought to Manila aboard a Subic Air Lear jet, RPC 1426, allegedly chartered by the US Embassy. The aircraft arrived at the Davao airport at about 9 a.m. Sunday and left an hour and a half later.

Aside from the FBI agents, the sources said Miering was accompanied to Manila by his fellow American, Stephen Hughes, who had been attending to Miering’s hospitalization since the explosion.

The sources said Hughes, who is visiting the country with his wife, was also questioned by the FBI on his relationship with Miering. But Hughes said he only met Miering recently and that he was only doing a good deed for his fellow American.

The sources said Miering had to be transferred to the Makati Medical Hospital because it was one of only two hospitals accredited by Miering’s medical insurance.

"The bills were mounting at the Davao Doctors Hospital and they could not be covered by his insurance. So it was decided that he be transferred immediately," one of the sources said.

The sources, however, did not mention why the FBI would be interested in Miering, except for the fact that he evidently illegally possessed explosives.

"I hold Miering responsible for the explosion," said Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. "He refused to cooperate with the police when they went to search his room before the incident."

Duterte said Miering was also caught in possession of fake US dollars at the Davao Fish Port in Toril on May 10 and that might be another reason why the FBI was interested in him.