MANILA, Philippines—His guard was taking a bath when Ikram Indama, a suspect-turned-state-witness in the deadly bombing attack on the Batasang Pambansa 11 months ago, disappeared from the supposedly tightly guarded Camp Crame at sunrise Monday.

The confessed conspirator in the Nov. 13, 2007, bombing that left six people dead, including Rep. Wahab Akbar, walked out of a state protection deal worked out in July in exchange for crucial testimony.

The 90-day provisional protection was to lapse on Thursday and police were careful not to tag the incident an escape, citing Indama’s status as a state witness.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Indama’s guards should be relieved and investigated for infidelity in the custody of a witness.

“I cannot yet fathom the motive but obviously somebody must be interested in his escape,” Gonzalez said. He did not elaborate beyond saying that someone would benefit if Indama did not testify.

Indama, 35, was said to be a former driver of House Deputy Speaker Gerry Salapuddin, one of seven suspects charged with multiple murder in connection with the bombing. Indama was known to have driven the motorcycle loaded with explosives to the south wing of the Batasan complex.

He had been detained in a room on the ground floor of the two-story Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region (CIDG-NCR) building at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police.

Guard undergoing probe

Indama’s custodian, Senior Insp. Ariel Macalalay, saw the detainee inside his quarters before the guard took a bath around 5:30 or 6 a.m., according to Chief Supt. Raul Castañeda, the CIDG chief. Macalalay was “restricted to quarters” while the probe is going on.

The incident happened on the same day that just-installed PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa appointed Supt. Isagani Nerez as the new chief of CIDG-NCR.

Castañeda assembled an investigation team and ordered a search to find out how Indama escaped and where he went. The CIDG has also reached Indama’s family.

“I cannot speculate who will benefit because the case is already in the court. But the immediate effect I see is, since he violated the contract with the state as a witness, he will again become a suspect,” said Senior Supt. Asher Dolina, CIDG chief of staff.

Dolina said Indama’s wife Rose and their two children—the younger born inside the camp—decided to return to their native Basilan eight days earlier, leaving the witness alone at his quarters for the first time since his arrest.

Wife left without notice

“As much as possible, we didn’t want him to be separated from his family because we were concerned what he would do. His wife left without telling us,” Dolina told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Monday.

“His wife was pregnant with their second child when he was arrested and they started staying here. She gave birth to their second child at the hospital here at Crame,” Dolina said.

The family shared a 5-square-meter room, which has one window with iron grills and thick glass pane partly opened out front to the street.

Asked if Indama and his family’s apparent rapport with their guards could have been a factor in the disappearance, Dolina said the witness was restricted to his quarters and had to request an escort if he needed to go to the toilet or out of the building.

Concern for Indama’s safety

“Under the witness protection program, you are supposed to be under police security because the concern is you are in danger outside,” Dolina said.

One of the first places police went to look for Indama was the Quezon City home of Anak Mindanao party-list Rep. Mujiv Hataman who was incensed and denounced the police visit on the floor of Congress.

Police later said the visit was just a "coincidence," explaining that a team came to the area to serve an arrest warrant on an illegal recruitment case.

Hataman was earlier accused of being one of the masterminds of the bombing, but was later cleared by the Department of Justice.

“Apparently, the police doubt the finding of no probable cause in my favor … Given that there is already a ruling, why is the CIDG still pushing it?” he told reporters. With reports from Norman Bordadora and Leila B. Salaverria