2 suspects in Mangudadatu slay try identified; 1 nabbed

(Updated 6:12 p.m.) The buyer of the vehicle that was used in Monday’s car bombing incident in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, and the one who left it at the blast site have been named suspects in the attack that was believed to be targeting Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, police said Thursday. The two suspects had already undergone inquest proceedings, according to Deputy Director General Nicanor Bartolome, acting chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP). “The special investigation task group already submitted its findings and has already [requested inquest proceedings] against [the] two suspects… The case has already been referred to fiscal office for inquest," Bartolome told reporters. Police Director Felicisimo Khu Jr. of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao said the man who left the Kia Avella at the blast site, identified as Datu Karim Masdal, is already in police custody. He said Masdal was arrested shortly after the attack, but information on his arrest was kept secret due to follow-up operations. Malacañang immediately welcomed the arrest, saying it showed the determination of the PNP “to properly enforce peace and order." “It’s always pleasant for us to have an investigation with results immediately produced," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters at a press briefing.
Bartolome identified the other suspect as Jay-R Reyes, the person who bought the Kia Avella vehicle in Davao City. Authorities, however, believed it was not his real name. “He, until lately, cannot be accounted by our operatives in the field, [we have] already consulted some agencies to find out some details [about him]… but up to now they have not taken hold of any records on file on agencies," Bartolome said. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz said in a text message that a check with the Land Transportation Office, the Commission on Elections, Social Security System, and the Civil Registrar in Cotabato City showed that no "Jay-R Reyes" appears on any of their records. "Hence, such name must be fictitious," the police spokesman said, adding that further investigation would be undertaken to determine the true identity of Reyes. Cruz also said that supplemental charges for damage to property will later be filed against the suspects. Two people were killed in the attack, including a board member of Maguindanao province who was part of the Mangudadatu convoy. The other fatality was a bystander. Bartolome said based on the initial result of investigation, Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and two sisters in the infamous Maguindanao massacre in 2009, was the target of the attack. “It is an attack against the person of Governor Mangudadatu," he said. Bartolome said Masdal was identified through a witness. “There is a witness in the vicinity of the blast site who pinpointed or identified this suspect to be the one that left the Kia Avella before the explosion," he said. The police official refused to say if members of the Ampatuan family, the clan implicated in the Maguindanao massacre, are suspects in the bombing attack. “I will not discuss on this muna, what I would like to discuss is yung evidence na nakuha dito." — with Amita O. Legaspi and Mark M. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News