SC affirms conviction of 3 Abu Sayyaf men in Valentine's Day bombing

The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision convicting three members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf for bombing a bus on Feb. 14, 2005 in Makati City. In a 19-page decision penned by Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the Court's Third Division denied the appeals of Gamal Baharan (alias Tapay), Angelo Trinidad (alias Abu Khalil) and Rohmat Abdurrohim (alias Abu Jackie or Zaky). The SC's decision was promulgated Jan. 10, 2011, but was made available to the media on Wednesday, a day after another passenger bus was bombed while it was cruising along the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue in Makati. Tuesday's blast claimed the lives of five people. Authorities said an 81-mm mortar was used in the bombing. [See: Police: 81-millimeter mortar shell used in Makati bus blast] In the Feb. 14, 2005 incident, three people were killed while 60 others were injured. It coincided with two more bombings in southern Philippines — General Santos City and Davao City. That day, a total of nine people were killed and over 100 others were hurt, according to an Associated Press report. In October 2005, the Makati Regional Trial Court convicted the three of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder. The Court of Appeals later sustained the guilty verdict in June 2008. Only the three accused were tried and convicted for the bombing because the other suspects remain at large to date. The three men appealled the two rulings, saying the trial court committed an error in convicting them because their guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt. But the Supreme Court said: "The petition is denied. The decision of the Regional Trial Court of Makati, as affirmed with modification by the Court of Appeals, is hereby affirmed." Valentine's Day bombing The Supreme Court gave weight to the testimony of Gappal Bannah Asali, who was previously accused for the bombing but was later made a state witness. Asali had testified that Rohmat had trained him to make bombs and explosives. He said that while he was on training, he was told that the Abu Sayyaf's mission was to plant bombs in parts of Metro Manila. "What can be culled from the testimony of Asali is that the Abu Sayyaf Group was determined to sow terror in Metro Manila, so that they could 'show their anger towards Christians.' It can also be seen that Rohmat, together with [Khadaffy] Janjalani and Abu Solaiman, had carefully planned the Valentine's Day bombing incident, months before it happened," said the Supreme Court. The Makati court earlier ruled that Asali was ordered by the Abu Sayyaf leadership to secure eight kilos of TNT, a bomb-making ingredient, and other the bomb-making components. Asali had testified that on the night before the Valentine's Day bombing in Makati, Trinidad and Asaran got two more kilos of TNT. After the bombing, Asali received a call from Abu Solaiman telling him not to go to crowded areas because the bomb had already exploded in Makati. A day after the bombing, Rohmat called Asali congratulating him for the "successful mission," which Asali said was a mission "to show our anger towards the Christians." In its decision on Jan. 10, 2011, the Supreme Court affrimed the existence of conspiracy involving Baharan, Trinidad, and Rohmat. "Conspiracy was clearly established from the 'collective acts of the accused-appellants before, during and after the commission of the crime,'" said the SC. The high court likewise said Rohmat is criminally responsible for being a "principal [to the crime] by inducement" for training and instructing Asali how to make bombs. The SC also said Rohmat's "careful planning and persistent attempts to bomb different areas in Metro Manila and Rohmat's confirmation that Trinidad would be getting TNT from Asali as part of their mission — prove the finding that Rohmat's inducement was the determining cause of the commission of the crime." Abu Sayyaf The Abu Sayyaf or al-Harakat al-Islamiya (Bearer of the Sword), was founded in 1991 in the southern province of Basilan. It has been blamed for bombings, kidnappings, and beheadings not only in southern Philippines but also in Metro Manila. Washington has blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf, which has nearly 400 fighters, as a terrorist organization. Military offensives have killed or captured many of its commanders in recent years, leaving the group splintered into factions. — RSJ, GMANews.TV