3 charged in Zamboanga blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Police have filed charges against three suspects, two of them still unidentified, in the Aug. 5 bombing outside the terminal of the Zamboanga International Airport.

The blast left the two bomb carriers dead and 24 others wounded, including Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and a British national.

Chief Superintendent Edwin Corvera, Region 9 police director, said charges of multiple frustrated murder, multiple attempted murder and illegal manufacture and illegal possession of explosives were filed against Allan Sabuddin and the two John Does.

Corvera said the case was filed before the city prosecutor’s office last Tuesday following the tedious investigation by Task Force ZIA led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. 

He said the charges were supported by scientific and forensic results provided by closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages of the suspects in a hotel in the city’s downtown area prior to the bombing.

“These (charges) were supported by scientific and forensic results of a prior video recording of the suspects in areas which they made as staging point prior to the attack that led to their identities,” Corvera said, adding that witnesses corroborated the CCTV footages.

Corvera said they have also coordinated with the Directorate for Integrated Police Operation (DIPO) Western Mindanao, as the suspects have fled their area of jurisdiction.