Police fail to arrest Sulu lawmaker

SULU – Police have failed to arrest Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison, who is accused of 17 counts of arson in the southern Muslim province.

Arbison, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, backed out Monday from filing his certificate of candidacy after members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group allegedly waited for him at the office of the Commission on Elections in Jolo town.

The lawmaker, who is seeking re-election in next year’s polls, strongly denied all the charges against him and said the criminal cases filed against him in court were 20 years old. Arbison said he had nothing to do with the cases and branded it as mere fabrication, adding, some of those who filed charges against him were either deceased or had gone to Malaysia.

It was unclear why Arbison had to evade the policemen waiting to arrest him if he denied allegations against him, but he branded the attempt as a political harassment. Arbison, a former political ally of former senator Mar Roxas who lost to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the presidential elections in 2016, is seeking re-election. 

There was no immediate statement from the police on Arbison's accusation of harassment. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Notorious drug pusher killed in Zamboanga town

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Anti-narcotics agents, backed by security forces, killed a notorious drug pusher in a clash following a sting operation in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibugay, officials said Tuesday.

Officials said a minor, Alkiezer Canda, was also arrested during the operation mounted by authorities late Monday in Kabasalan town, but another “high-value” target Ibno Ahod, managed to escape and is being hunted down in the province. 

Police photos show the slain drug pusher Jamil Asmad and crystal meth recovered from him following a firefight in Zamboanga Sibugay's Kabasalan town. 

Police have identified the slain drug pusher, who was also a notorious criminal, as Jamil Asmad. Agents also recovered 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride or crystal meth worth over P10 million and a .45-caliber pistol from the slain drug suspect.

Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, a regional police spokesperson, said the body of Asmad was handed over to his family, and that criminal charges are being readied against Canda and Ahod.  “Cases for violation of Section 26 in relation to section 5 Article II of RA 9165 are being readied for filing in court against the suspects,” she said. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Police tag slain Zamboanga cops in illegal drug trade

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police have confirmed that the two cops slain in a firefight with members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) in Zamboanga City were involved in illegal drugs.

It said the duo - PO3 Ronald Bernardo and PO2 Maria Oliver Olaso, were killed after they engaged undercover policemen during a sting operation on August 18 in the village of Ayala. Task force agents were trying to arrest the duo when the policemen reportedly engaged the arresting team, backed by police commandos, in a shootout.

“Counter-Intelligence Task Force conducted surveillance on the reports the two subject police officers were involved in illegal drugs and upon confirmation operating team CITF initiated the buy bust operation which resulted to the death of the subject police officers,” said Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, a regional police spokeswoman.

She said police investigators recovered suspected shabu and weapons and money from the slain cops and from their alleged safe house nearby.

But former village chieftain Alex Macapili told E-Media Television that he was with Bernardo and Olaso and they just conducted an anti-illegal drug operation in the area when they ran into a group of policemen on their way home. And afterwards, policemen started shooting at them, said Macapili, who was able to ran to a safe place at the first burst of gunfire.

In the same report, E-Media said Macapili was the subject of a search warrant after police received information that he was keeping illegal weapons in his house. Macapili has gone missing and is believed to be hiding.

The operation coincided with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to kill policemen involved in illegal drugs and offered P5 million rewards for each rogue cop killed.

The families of the slain policemen did not release any statement on the accusations against Bernardo and Olaso, who were members of the anti-illegal drugs unit of the police station in Ayala. (Mindanao Examiner)

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2 Zamboanga cops accused in illegal drug trade slain

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two local policemen with alleged links to illegal drug trade were killed Saturday in a firefight with members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) in Zamboanga City.

Task force agents were trying to arrest the duo, PO3 Ronald Bernardo and PO2 Maria Oliver Olaso, in the village of Ayala when the policemen reportedly engaged the arresting team, backed by police commandos.

This was also confirmed by the local police director, Senior Superintendent Alan Nazarro, according to media reports.

Police did not release details of the operation against Bernardo and Olaso, but their names were allegedly included in the task force watch list.

The operation coincided with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to kill policemen involved in illegal drugs and offered P5 million rewards for each rogue cop killed.

The families of the slain policemen did not release any statement on the accusations against Bernardo and Olaso. (Mindanao Examiner)

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2 militiamen, dedo sa North Cotabato ambush

NORTH COTABATO - Napatay ngayon Lunes ang dalawang mga miyembro Special Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary o SCAA makaraang tambangan at pagbabarilin sila ng hindi pa nakilalang mga suspek.

Nabatid na sakay ng isang motorsiklo ang mga biktima sa bahagi ng Barangay Ginatilan sa bayan ng Pikit sa North Cotabato ng sila ay ratratin. Kinilala ang mga nasawi na sina SCAA Richard Wacan at isang alias Maro.

Sa ulat ni Supt. Bernard Tayong, ang tagapagsalita ng Cotabato Police Provincial Office, ay binabaybay ng mga biktima ang daan buhat sa Poblacion ng Pikit at pagdating sa Dalandag National High School doon na sila tinambangan.

Ang mga biktima ay nagtamo ng maraming tama ng bala sa iba’t-ibang bahagi ng kanilang katawan na naging dahilan ng pagkamatay ng mga ito. Sinisilip pa ng pulisya kung may kinalaman sa kanilang trabaho ang pagpaslang sa mga biktima. Walang umako sa krimen. (Rhoderick Beñez)

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Muslim cleric’s son murdered in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A lone gunman shot dead the son of a Muslim preacher while he and his father was about to start a prayer in a house in Zamboanga city in southern Philippines, police said Tuesday.

Police said the gunmen barged in the house of Evelyn Kalaw in Sinunuc village and shot the 27-year old Abdel Muin Jikiri several times. The attacker escaped on a motorcycle after the shooting.

Jikiri’s father and other house occupants were unhurt from the shooting.

Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, a regional police spokeswoman, said a criminal investigation into the killing was launched to determine the motive of the murder. But an initial police report, she said, claimed that the killing may have been triggered by personal grudge.

She said police investigators also recovered bullet casings fired from a .45-caliber pistol. Jikiri’s family did not give any statement to the press on the murder.  

Gun attacks are not uncommon in Zamboanga where hired killers actively operate. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Ambusher of Iligan City congressman slain in firefight

PAGADIAN CITY – Police forces killed a former communist rebel - tagged in the ambush of a Filipino lawmaker four years ago - following a firefight in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, officials said Monday.

Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, a regional police spokeswoman, said police forces over the weekend were trying to arrest Ronel Bation Japay in the village of Campo Dos in Aurora town when he opened fire on the raiders, sparking a gun fight that eventually killed him.

A police photo shows the body of slain hired killer Ronel Japay.

Japay, also a notorious hired killer, was linked to ambush of Iligan City Rep. Vicente Belmonte, Jr., in December 11, 2014 that left him wounded. The attack killed four of Belmonte’s aides and injured 3 others. The group of Belmonte was heading to Iligan City from when gunmen ambushed them.

Belmonte just arrived at the Laguindingan airport and his convoy was heading to Iligan City when gunmen sprayed his vehicles with automatic weapons in Laguindingan town in Misamis Oriental province.

Galvez said the former rebel was also being linked by the police in June 24, 2018 shooting of 61-year old Luz Yabo in Aurora town. “Subject person opted to engage the police personnel in a firefight and attempted to escape in a very steep ravine and was later pinned down during another round of gunfight with the pursuing policemen,” she said.

Policemen also recovered Japay’s .45-caliber pistol and a fragmentation grenade. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Sayyaf Sabah raider captured in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police are holding an Abu Sayyaf commander involved in the 2000 kidnapping of 21 European holidaymakers and Asian resort workers in the resort island of Sipadan in Sabah, Malaysia.

Police said the 54-year old Faizal Radjae was captured Friday afternoon in the village of Tumitus. It was unknown how police managed to track down Radjae, but he is facing a string of criminal charges and terrorism in the restive region.

Radjae is currently being interrogated, but details of the investigation were not immediately made available by the police as operation still continue to determine whether the captured militant alone or not, and whether his group was planning to stage attacks ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address next week.

Police did not say if it seized weapons or bombs from Radjae’s hideout. There was no immediate statement from Radjae’s family. The Abu Sayyaf has been fighting for a caliphate in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Gunmen abduct Zamboanga trader

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Gunmen clad in police and military uniform abducted a businessman in a daring raid in his home in Kabasalan town in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibugay, officials said Monday.

Officials said at least 6 men, armed rifles and guns, barged in the house of Alejandro Bation in the coastal village of Nazareth late Sunday and dragged him out to a waiting motorize boat.

The 58-year old trader, whose family owns a fishpond, was having dinner with his sons and a worker and a visitor, when the gunmen broke inside the house, said Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, a regional police spokeswoman.

“Six unidentified men, armed with long and short firearms, and wearing military and police uniform entered the premises and two of them went inside the house and pointed their gun and drag the victim going outside the house towards the mini wharf of said barangay and boarded to one of the three motorized pump boats. The armed men fled towards the coastal waters of Naga and Payao municipalities,” she said.

Galvez said police forces pursued the gunmen after receiving a report, but did not catch up with the abductors and their hostage. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the abduction, but several rebel groups are actively operating in the province and were largely blamed in past ransom kidnappings in the area.

In April, at least 7 gunmen also kidnapped a woman, Laarni Bandi, who works as a secretary for Celebes Marine Products, in the coastal town of Malangas in Zamboanga Sibugay. The 38-year old woman was released a month later after her family reportedly paid an unspecified amount of ransom to the kidnappers.

Armed men also kidnapped 6 people on July 1, including an infant, from a farm in Sirawai town in the neighboring province of Zamboanga del Norte. The gunmen, whose leader has been identified as Jamilon Tukalan, demanded P400,000 for the safe release of the hostages – Feliciano Javier, 28; his wife Elsa, 28, and their five-month old baby Vincent; and Junior Javier, 22, and wife Rica, also 22-years old and their five-year old son Val. All are keepers of farm owned by Valiente Tolo Felizarta, the town’s municipal engineer.

The town’s deputy mayor, Jaime Felizarta, has told police investigators that a man, who identified himself as “Abu”, is holding all the hostages and demanded the ransoms. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Tawi-Tawi vice mayor, Arabic teacher killed in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A deputy mayor from the remote southern Philippine town of Sapa-Sapa in Tawi-Tawi was assassinated in Zamboanga City in a daring attack Wednesday afternoon by a lone gunman.

The attacker shot Al-Rashid Mohammad Ali who was in a car with his companions, including a policeman, during a traffic stop in downtown Zamboanga. The gunman apparently tailed Ali’s car and then shot him several times through the window.

The attacker escaped on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice after the shooting. It was unknown why no policemen were in sight at the time of the shooting.

Ali’s escort tried to pursue the shooter, but failed to catch up on him. The politician was rushed to the Zamboanga Doctor’s Hospital nearby, but he did not survive the attack.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the murder and police cannot say the motive of the killing, not until the investigation is complete. Ali’s family did not give any statement to journalists who were outside the hospital.

The assassination came a day after two motorcycle gunmen killed a 34-year old Arabic teacher, Ibrahim Baguinda, in the village of Talon-Talon. Baguinda was driving his motorcycle with his daughter when one the assailants, who tailed him, shot him many times.

When Baguinda fell off the motorcycle, one of the gunmen, walked towards him and fired more shots, according to the police.

Policemen, who responded to the shooting, failed to arrest the killers, but they recovered about two dozen fired cartridges from a 9mm automatic pistol. Police, quoting witnesses to the killings, said the gunmen were both wearing masks and helmets, and black jackets.

Prior to Baguinda’s murder, a group of gunmen swooped down on a Muslim neighborhood in Kasanyangan village near Talon-Talon and barged inside several houses and held its occupants at gunpoint and then fired indiscriminately in the air before escaping.

Villagers recovered fired cartridges from 9mm and .45-caliber automatic pistols. Gun attacks are rampant in Zamboanga where killings, believed perpetrated by hired killers, occur almost every day despite the imposition of an extended martial law in the volatile region.

Just recently, a village councilman, Michael Magallanes was killed by a lone gunman outside his house in Santa Catalina village. Magallanes, 38, who was elected council member in the recently concluded polls, had been shot at least 5 times. 

Magallanes’ family did not issue any statement and it was not immediately known whether the victim had been receiving death threats or if the killing was political or not. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Zamboanga politician shot dead

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A lone gunman shot dead a village official in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said Sunday.

Police said Michael Magallanes, who was elected council man in the recent elections, just came out from his house in Santa Catalina when the gunman attacked him. He was shot at least 5 times.

The attacker escaped after shooting and police said it launched an investigation into the murder of the 38-year old politician. Magallanes’ family did not issue any statement and it was not immediately known whether the victim had been receiving death threats or if the killing was political or not.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the murder, but gun attacks are not uncommon in Zamboanga City where hired killers are actively operating. (Mindanao Examiner)

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ARMM lawmaker, 3 others escape ambush in Davao City, but aide killed

DAVAO CITY – One person was killed after gunmen attacked Monday the pickup truck of a lawmaker from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while in Davao City in southern Philippines, police said.

Police said Assemblyman Sidik Amiril (Maguindanao Province) and his 3 other companions were unhurt from the attack inside their bullet-proof truck, but his aide, Berry Adas, who was riding at the back of the vehicle died from the shooting.

The attackers, armed with automatic weapons, escaped in their vehicles – a sports utility van and a motorcycle, after the shooting which occurred along Chico Street in Buhangin district. The ambushers apparently did not know the truck was bullet-proof.

Amiril did not give any statement, but police identified his companions as Moktar Adam, Kaharudin Manda and Jastipy Mamadras.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the ambush, but authorities had previously linked the lawmaker to the alleged illegal drugs trade in Mindanao. And last year, members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, raided his home in Cotabato City.

The attack on Amiril came hours after a sniper fire killed Mayor Antonio Halili, of Tanauan City in Batangas province during the flag raising ceremony at City Hall. The mayor was allegedly involved in illegal drugs trade in Batangas, according to government intelligence reports, which Halili previously denied. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Gunmen kidnap 6 people in Zamboanga town

PAGADIAN CITY – Gunmen kidnapped 6 people, including an infant, from a farm in Sirawai town in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Norte, police said Sunday.

Police said a group of bandits headed by Jamilon Tukalan was likely behind the kidnapping which occurred June 28 in San Nicolas village. The kidnappers demanded P400,000 for the safe release of the hostages.

The victims have been identified as Feliciano Javier, 28; his wife Elsa, 28, and their five-month old baby Vincent; and Junior Javier, 22, and wife Rica, also 22-years old and their five-year old son Val. All are keepers of farm owned by Valiente Tolo Felizarta, the town’s municipal engineer.

The town’s deputy mayor, Jaime Felizarta, has told police investigators that a man, who identified himself as “Abu”, is holding all the hostages and demanded the ransoms.

Authorities also invited Tukalan’s sister, who is a local resident, to help in negotiating for the freedom of the two farming families.

Security forces were dispatched to track down the kidnappers and rescue the hostages even while the negotiations are going based on the recommendation of the local crisis management committee headed by the mayor.

Tukalan’s group is behind the series of robberies, cattle rustling and ransom kidnappings and murders in the Zamboanga Peninsula. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Sayyaf militant captured in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Local police have captured an Abu Sayyaf fighter, who allegedly took part in mass abductions and brutal murders of civilians in the southern Filipino province of Basilan over a decade ago.

Police said Wahab Salapuddin, alias Abu Damdam, was tracked down in his hideout in the coastal village of Sangali late Thursday afternoon. Salapuddin is also wanted by authorities in Basilan and had a string of criminal charges filed in court against him in connection to the Abu Sayyaf attack at a coconut plantation in Lantawan town.

More than a dozen, mostly farm workers, had been taken hostage in the town and eventually beheaded by the militant group tied to the Islamic State.

There were no other details on Salapuddin’s capture or how police managed to track down the militant, or if he was alone here or whether his group was planning to carry out attacks in Zamboanga. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Sayyafs seized daughter of Muslim merchant in Tawi-Tawi

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants seized the seven-year old daughter of a Muslim merchant and shot his wife in the remote southern Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi before escaping out to the open sea, police and military said Thursday.

Authorities said the militants arrived on a motorboat in the village of Himba in Tandubas Island on Monday and seized the girl from the merchant’s store.

The victim’s father took his gun, opened fire on militants and sparking a firefight that left his wife wounded after being shot by one of the abductors.

The gunmen escaped along with the girl, whose surname is Astah. Tawi-Tawi, which is near the Malaysian state of Sabah, is one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Security forces launched an operation to track down the gunmen and rescue the victim. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Sayyaf fighter captured in Sulu

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police are holding an Abu Sayyaf fighter who was captured in the southern Philippine province of Sulu where security forces are fighting the militant group tied to the Islamic State.

Police said Suaid Hayudini is currently being investigated here, but details in interrogation were not immediately available.

Hayudini was said to have participated in cross-border raid in Sabah in 2000 where the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 21 mostly European holidaymakers and Asian resort workers.

It was not immediately known whether police seized weapons from Hayudini. The Abu Sayyaf is still holding about a dozen hostages, mostly foreign sailors, in the restive region. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Explosion injures 6 in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY – Police said a powerful explosion wounded at least 6 people in southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, a known stronghold of communist rebels in the troubled region.

Police said the blast occurred in Bukal village in Nabunturan and that three children were among the injured. The explosion occurred before midnight Saturday, but it was unclear whether the blast was an act of terrorism.

 Two adult women, and a teenager were also injured in the explosion and police said it is still investigating the blast. It said police investigators recovered pieces of mangles aluminium containing traces of gun powder.

Police have tightened security patrol in the town. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Sayyafs seize ex-Sulu mayor’s daughter, former wife

SULU – Abu Sayyaf rebels seized early Wednesday a daughter of a former Sulu mayor and his ex-wife in a daring operation right into their own turf in Talipao town, officials said.

Officials said the rebels barged into the house of Eddilyn Tulawie, 27; and seized the woman and her 57-year old mother, Addang. Eddilyn‘s father Tambrin Tulawie was the town’s former mayor, whose son Nezar is the incumbent mayor.

Tulawie’s family did not release any statement, but the twin abductions occurred around 3 a.m. in the village called Kuhaw. The victims were asleep when the gunmen broke into their house and captured them.

The motive of the abductions was still unknown, but the Abu Sayyaf is notoriously known for its ransom kidnappings not only in Sulu, but also in Basilan and Tawi-Tawi provinces which are all part of the Muslim autonomous region; including the Zamboanga Peninsula and cross-border raids in Sabah.

It was unclear why the police and military failed to detect the Abu Sayyaf raid despite an intensive campaign against the brutal group, whose leaders have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

The abductions also occurred while the whole southern region is under an extended martial rule since last year following President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration to address terrorism, rebellion and criminality. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Police commando, ex-soldier arrested for selling ammo in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A police commando and a retired soldier were arrested by the army and the police for allegedly selling rifle ammunition in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines.

Police said the duo - SPO1 Alkalif Mohammad, a member of the 84^th Special Action Group; and a former army sergeant, Ernesto Tio - were arrested after they illegally sold 130 rounds of ammunition for M16 automatic rifle to an undercover agent in Upper Calarian village on Saturday.

Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, a regional police spokeswoman, said the suspects were under investigation. “The operation resulted to the arrest of SPO1 Alkalif Mohammad, member of 84th SAG of the SAF, and retired Technical Sergeant Ernesto Tio. Recovered during the operation were one long magazine alloy loaded with 30 rounds of green-tipped ammos and 100 rounds of regular ammos of M-16 rifle,” she said.

The operation was launched by the members of the local police force, the 44th Military Intelligence Group, 11^th and 3^rd Infantry Battalions and intelligence unit of the military’s Joint Task Force-Zamboanga.

Galvez did not say if the ammunition were pilfered from a police or military armory, or whether bullets had been sold to rebel or militant groups, or civilians.

(Mindanao Examiner)

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Prisoner escapes after shooting cop in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A notorious prisoner, who is facing 3 counts of murder charges, escaped from prison on Wednesday after grabbing the gun of a policeman and then shooting him inside the police station in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Tungawan town.

 

 A police photo shows murder suspect Joemar Aukasa.

 

Police said it launched a massive search for Joemar Aukasa, who is included in the most wanted criminal list in the town. Aukasa managed to grab the gun of one of the policemen inside the police station while about to undergo booking process, and then shot the duty officer and escaped.

 

The incident occurred at around 9.55 a.m., according to the police.

 

“The suspect managed to escape after he grabbed the issued firearm of one of the police officers while the suspect was about to undergo booking process. Subsequently, suspect went out the room then shot the duty desk police officer and fled towards unknown direction bringing along the said firearm,” police said in an alert.

 

The identity and medical condition of the police officer was not made public. No other details were made available by the police. (Mindanao Examiner)

 

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