Fraternity offers reward for info on attackers

MANILA, Philippines—A fraternity based at Ateneo Law School has put up a P200,000 reward for information that will lead to the identification of those behind the grenade attack on the last day of bar examinations on Sept. 26, which left 47 wounded.

The Fraternal Order of Utopia Sunday condemned “in the strongest terms the irresponsible act of the perpetrators” outside De La Salle University, venue of the bar exams.

“Utopia hopes that those responsible for this unforgivable crime will soon be apprehended and brought to justice. Utopia commits its all-out support to the on-going investigation being conducted by the Supreme Court,” Utopia said in a statement.

The blast occurred during the traditional revelry on Taft Avenue called “salubong” to greet the law graduates who had just finished the grueling exams. Two of the 47 injured lost their limbs.

The Manila Police District (MPD) has yet to name a suspect in the blast, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Supreme Court have each started a parallel probe.

Rey Nathaniel C. Ifurung, a Utopia member, said no one from his fraternity had been wounded in the blast, but its members were very concerned over the gruesome violence.

“We were also in that tambayan (meeting place) for the salubong. It could very well have been us who got hurt,” he said in a phone interview.

Ifurung said Utopia decided to put up the P200,000 reward during its recent homecoming, and that the members would chip in to cover the amount. He said the police had already been informed about the reward offer.

The Supreme Court welcomed the Utopia initiative, saying efforts to bring those behind the blast “to the bar of justice should be a concerted effort.”

“With this offer, it is hoped that we can put a closure to this mishap at the soonest possible time,” Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said in a text message.

The fraternity includes Chief Justice Renato Corona and Associate Justices Roberto Abad and Arturo Brion, Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. and six other justices of the appellate court.

“While none of our members were involved in the incident, we felt that it’s our responsibility as lawyers to help the victims whose aspirations of becoming lawyers may have been affected by this,” said Antonio Bernardo, Utopia’s alumni president.

Marquez said that the probe body headed by Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. would look into the reasons behind the attack, including fraternity war, involvement of those implicated in last year’s massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao and destabilization moves against the Aquino administration.

The inquiry will be closed to the public. A media briefing will be conducted after each session. Corona has directed the panel to submit its findings on Oct. 15.

Marquez said the panel met on Friday to go over some documents and watch the video footage taken by the court’s security division.

Villarama has directed the MPD, NBI and the high court’s security office to submit a copy of the latest report of their investigation to the committee.

At least five witnesses are expected to show up on Monday at the start of the court inquiry, Marquez said Sunday.

“Some of the witnesses are law students and barristers who were there in the area where the explosion occurred,” he said. “Most of them had already given their statements to the law enforcement agencies investigating this. They will just be asked for details.”

In Cebu City, classmates and friends of Jed Carlo Lazaga at the University of San Jose Recoletos, scheduled a nationwide prayer vigil Monday night. They said Lazaga had been falsely implicated in the bombing. With a report from Nestor P. Burgos Jr. and Chito A. Aragon, Inquirer Visayas