Kin, friends join search for prime bomb scare suspect

Relatives and friends of the suspect in the recent spate of bomb scares in Metro Manila and Mindanao said they want to bring him to justice as they strongly believe that he is responsible for such acts but have no idea where he is.

"He has to answer the charges against him; he is responsible for his acts," said Ronald Adamat, an assistant secretary at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and a cousin of the fugitive, Roger Adamat, who has been tagged by authorities as the prime suspect in the bomb scare.

Ronald who works at Malacañang, the presidential palace, said he and his relatives have been doing their best to locate Roger, also known as Fedrev, of the Indigenous People's Federal Army (Ipfa), who police say had a hand in the recent bomb scares in Metro Manila.

He said his family believed that Roger is still in Mindanao in southern Philippines. "I (myself) believe he is somewhere in Mindanao," he added.

Eid Kabalu, spokesperson of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said he had received information that Roger was in Metro Manila but they still had to verify this. Ronald described Roger as a nationalist who would put his life at risk to achieve his goal.

Adamat's group was tagged as being behind the 27 bombs planted around Metro Manila and Mindanao since March. One of the bombs exploded in Cebu City, southern Philippines, earlier this month. The series of bomb scares have placed the police on alert since then.

Adamat, a graduate of Notre Dame University in Cotabato, central Mindanao, is said to have travelled in Malaysia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 1999.

The Philippine National Police have launched a nationwide manhunt for the 41-year-old engineer who was also once employed by the International Labour Organisation office in Manila.

Adamat could not be found in his house in Cotabato and police believe that he is staying in MILF areas although they quickly denied his involvement with the rebel group. Authorities are also investigating if Adamat has a previous criminal record.

Witnesses who saw the man suspected to have planted the explosives in various public areas in Metro Manila have positively identified Adamat in pictures shown by police investigators.

He was charged with violating Presidential Decree 1866 or the Illegal Possession of Explosives Act before the Department of Justice.

All the explosives found planted in Metro Manila and Mindanao were not rigged to detonate, except for one, raising the suspicion of police that they were only meant to fan fear in the country.