Three individuals were arrested, and the motivation was initially speculated to be related to Islamist militants.[2] The office building is owned by DMCI Holdings, a company owned by Chinese Filipinos.[3]
Aftermath
Authorities later arrested the leader of the thirteen-year-old organization, a lawyer; previously he was a lawyer for the Moro National Liberation Front.[4] The National Bureau of Investigation stated that the arrest was not related to the bomb plot, but to an "attack" on EDSA in 2004.[5] The "attack" is claimed to be a "protest" by the lawyer, who lost in the 2004 Philippine presidential elections.[6] The lawyer later stated that he did not want his associates to bomb the airport, but to use the explosives on Chinese ships in the Spratly Islands.[4] The lawyer was released on bail.[7]
The lawyer calls his organization "United States Allied Freedom Fighters of the East".[7] Justice Secretary Leila de Lima called the actions of the group "misguided".[8] The Director General of the National Security Council called the group a "dubious organisation led by delusional leaders."[4] The Philippine Armed Forces called the bomb plot "comic relief", while the National Bureau of Investigation did not dismiss the attack.[9]
Effects
The three arrested individuals were charged with illegal possession of explosives. All were represented by a single lawyer, with ties to the Marcos presidency, who claimed that the three are fall guys in a plot by the Aquino Administration to create instability to allow the constitution to be amended so that President Aquino can serve more than one term.[10] The charges were later endorsed by the Department of Justice, but charges of illegal possession of firearms were dropped.[11]
Following the bombing plot, and an unrelated kidnapping of a Chinese teenager, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning advising its nationals not to travel to the Philippines.[12]
