Wanted terror suspect shows up in court, demands probe

An Islamic militant who jumped bail after being linked to bombing plots in Metro Manila appeared at the Makati City court yesterday seeking an order from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct a preliminary investigation of the rebellion charges filed against him.

Making a surprise appearance in court, Tyrone Santos — who converted to Islam and took the name Dawud Santos — said he had not gone into hiding and that he was ready to face the charges against him.

Santos, who was accompanied in court by his lawyer Nick Martelino, also asked the government to accord him due process, which he said is a right guaranteed him by the Constitution.

The Bill of Rights states that no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law, he added.

Santos said the DOJ charged him with rebellion in court without giving him notice or allowing him to demand a preliminary investigation as required by law.

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proven, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of nature and cause of the accusation against him," read his three-page motion for preliminary investigation.

On the other hand, Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco, who filed the rebellion charges against Santos, said the DOJ would conduct a preliminary investigation if ordered by the court.

"We will obey it because that is under the law," he said. "We will evaluate the evidence that they will present, and if there is reason to exonerate them, we will."

Velasco said he did not conduct a preliminary investigation of Santos because the DOJ did not know his whereabouts at the time the government filed rebellion charges against him.

He added the DOJ has "very credible and powerful" witnesses who will expose the financiers, legal advisers, and media handlers of the Rajah Solaiman Movement — to which Santos allegedly belongs — and the Abu Sayyaf, and their links to the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network.

Santos was previously charged with illegal possession of explosives and was able to post bail.

When he was already out on bail, the DOJ decided to file rebellion charges against him without first conducting a preliminary investigation as provided for under law.