MANILA — A 40-year-old man claiming to be responsible for throwing a molotov cocktail at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 surrendered to authorities Thursday.
The man turned himself in at the Airport Police Department (APD) on Thursday night and confessed to the incident, according to Police Brig. Gen. Jack Wanky, director of the PNP Aviation Security Group.
Despite the confession, doubts have been raised about the credibility of the man's claim.
"Nung dinala siya sa scene of incident at pina-backtracking natin, hindi niya masagot yung ginawa niya... Di niya alam saan niya tinapon," Wanky said.
This led investigators to suspect that he may have mental health issues.
The man was transferred to the Pasay City Police Station for profiling, checking for any prior records, and further investigation into the true motive behind his confession.
According to the Pasay police Investigation and Detection Management Section's (IDMS) report, the man told them that his actions were motivated by anger.
He claimed that operations against taxi drivers adversely affected his livelihood, leading him to make two attempts at throwing molotov cocktails.
The alleged first attempt on September 22 failed to explode, while the second attempt on September 23 caused damage.
The man said he acted alone and decided to surrender due to his conscience.
Contradicting the police report, the man provided a different account of the events to the media.
He claimed to have been waiting in front of a hotel in Pasay to transfer passengers to a taxi when a woman approached him.
"Ang sabi imbitahan lang ako sa presinto nila... Kinuha nila ako sa labas dun sa harap ng mga alas-7 ng gabi... Kinuha ako ng mobile dun. Inako ko lang kunyari para makalabas na ako," he said.
Authorities said they will validate all the information provided by the man to determine the veracity of his statements.
In addition to the ongoing investigation, Pasay police chief Col. Froilan Uy emphasized the importance of searching for any outstanding warrants related to the man.
"Pero kung halimbawang wala tayong makikitang ganun eh wala po tayong basis for his detention at kailangan na po natin siyang i-release," said Uy.
Uy also mentioned that a comprehensive evaluation by a psychologist would be necessary before making any conclusions regarding the man's mental health condition.
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