Cagayan de Oro Bomber Identified, Charged in Court

Police authorities in Cagayan de Oro City have filed multiple murder charges against Usman Hapids along

Usman Hapids, the suspect

with several John and Jane Does on August 7, 2013 before the City Prosecutor Office.  The suspects are believed to belong to a small and obscure group of dubious persons called Khilafa Islamiyah Mindanao which is believed to have a link with local terrorist groups. Bangsa Moro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf are Al Qaeda linked local terror groups which are waging a war against the Philippine government to establish a caliphate and an independent Islamic State in Mindanao.                                                                                  

The filing of the charge was made hours before the Philippine Senate of Public Safety chaired by Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares conducted a hearing in aid of legislation regarding the bombing incident in Cagayan de Oro. The hearing was attended by DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, Mayor Oscar Moreno, PNP chief Alan Purisima and other top police officials.  

  

 Reports from the witnesses have it that five suspects first entered the Gloria Marris Restaurant at Rosario Arcade in Lim ket Kai on the evening of July 26, 2013 for dinner. At about 11 p.m. a blast was heard shortly after the suspects went out of that restaurant. Usman Hapids who is believed to be from the province of Lanao del Sur was tagged as the one who left a bag on a table outside Kyla’s Bistro on that fateful evening before the deadly explosion that killed 8 persons and wounded 46 others.                                                                                                             

At present Usman Hapids and his still unidentified companions are still at large. The police with the help of other government agencies as well as the intelligence community are working hard for the early resolution of the case. Mayor Moreno has offered a two million-peso bounty to those who can give information leading to the arrest of the suspects. 

                                                                                                            

Authorities said the possible motives of the persons behind the bombing include terrorism, personal grudge against one of the victims and outrage against the “Hapsay” program of Mayor Oscar Moreno which is aimed to rid the streets of vendors especially at public markets because they disrupt the flow of vehicular traffic. The city government however promised to relocate the vendors who are displaced by its “Hapsay” program.