About 130 Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf militants accused of beheading 10 members of the Philippine Marines earlier this month in Basilan have escaped from arresting policemen, officials said Wednesday.
The suspects fled of their lairs on the outskirts of Al-Barka town, particularly in Ginanta, while policemen were serving arrest warrants to them on Tuesday, said Al-Barka Municipality Mayor Karam Jakilan.
"Tumakas na sila. Wala na sila doon…nagtatago sa ibang lugar…Palagay ko watak-watak na sila pero sa Basilan pa rin (they have escaped there...they're no longer in the area...hiding in another location. I think they have split but they're still in Basilan)," he told Zamboanga Southwall.
Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, Basilan police provincial chief, led 300 of military-backed policemen who swept into far-flung areas in Al-Barka town but MILF rebels, including suspects listed in the warrants of arrest, were gone.
Macapantar said they knocked on houses and went to an MILF known bailiwick but found no one in the area. "The suspects might have left Basilan while others were given sanctuary by their relatives."
On Tuesday, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police chief Supt. Joel Goltiao deferred the arrest of some MILF rebels, blamed for the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, after the joint GRP-MILF fact finding team asked for extension.
In an interview, Von Al Haq, MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) chief, told this reporter the joint fact finding team was expected to conclude its extended investigation and submit full report on Wednesday.
The full report of the joint GRP-MILF CCCH fact finding team and the Bantay Ceasefire was submitted to acting Defense chief Norberto Gonzales, Peace Process Adviser Jesus Dureza and to the MILF Central Committee.
"We will make our official report based on our findings. Definitely, we are going to submit to our principal, both in MILF and government, and then decide on what appropriate move to be done that is less expensive and less damage."
Al Haq said he is hopeful through their findings, the arrest warrants to 130 suspects will be trimmed down as there are innocents, like elderly Muslim religious leaders and police chief of Al-Barka town, included in the warrants of arrest.
Asked to comment on the reported escape of MILF suspects from arresting policemen, Al Haq said: "It's natural for those suspects. If you were in their shoes you will either resist or escape, but we have no hand in their escape."
Government officials tasked to oversee the implementation of police punitive action against those who killed the 14 marines believe there is big possibility that the perpetrators are still in the area.
"The police and the military have beefed up their troops in neighboring areas to prevent the suspects from slipping out of Basilan," said Secretary Gonzales, also National Security adviser.
OPPAP Secretary Dureza hailed the town mayors of Basilan province for their efforts in providing the government credible witnesses in identifying those actual perpetrators of the beheading.
"We can pinpoint now who the marines' killers, but it's a long arduous task of getting those guys. We're still cross checking their (mayors) information that they're giving to us from other sources."
He said the mayors' active participation plus the independent investigation of the joint GRP-MILF CCCH and Bantay Ceasefire would definitely help resolve the conflict between the military and the MILF in Basilan.
The suspects fled of their lairs on the outskirts of Al-Barka town, particularly in Ginanta, while policemen were serving arrest warrants to them on Tuesday, said Al-Barka Municipality Mayor Karam Jakilan.
"Tumakas na sila. Wala na sila doon…nagtatago sa ibang lugar…Palagay ko watak-watak na sila pero sa Basilan pa rin (they have escaped there...they're no longer in the area...hiding in another location. I think they have split but they're still in Basilan)," he told Zamboanga Southwall.
Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, Basilan police provincial chief, led 300 of military-backed policemen who swept into far-flung areas in Al-Barka town but MILF rebels, including suspects listed in the warrants of arrest, were gone.
Macapantar said they knocked on houses and went to an MILF known bailiwick but found no one in the area. "The suspects might have left Basilan while others were given sanctuary by their relatives."
On Tuesday, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police chief Supt. Joel Goltiao deferred the arrest of some MILF rebels, blamed for the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, after the joint GRP-MILF fact finding team asked for extension.
In an interview, Von Al Haq, MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) chief, told this reporter the joint fact finding team was expected to conclude its extended investigation and submit full report on Wednesday.
The full report of the joint GRP-MILF CCCH fact finding team and the Bantay Ceasefire was submitted to acting Defense chief Norberto Gonzales, Peace Process Adviser Jesus Dureza and to the MILF Central Committee.
"We will make our official report based on our findings. Definitely, we are going to submit to our principal, both in MILF and government, and then decide on what appropriate move to be done that is less expensive and less damage."
Al Haq said he is hopeful through their findings, the arrest warrants to 130 suspects will be trimmed down as there are innocents, like elderly Muslim religious leaders and police chief of Al-Barka town, included in the warrants of arrest.
Asked to comment on the reported escape of MILF suspects from arresting policemen, Al Haq said: "It's natural for those suspects. If you were in their shoes you will either resist or escape, but we have no hand in their escape."
Government officials tasked to oversee the implementation of police punitive action against those who killed the 14 marines believe there is big possibility that the perpetrators are still in the area.
"The police and the military have beefed up their troops in neighboring areas to prevent the suspects from slipping out of Basilan," said Secretary Gonzales, also National Security adviser.
OPPAP Secretary Dureza hailed the town mayors of Basilan province for their efforts in providing the government credible witnesses in identifying those actual perpetrators of the beheading.
"We can pinpoint now who the marines' killers, but it's a long arduous task of getting those guys. We're still cross checking their (mayors) information that they're giving to us from other sources."
He said the mayors' active participation plus the independent investigation of the joint GRP-MILF CCCH and Bantay Ceasefire would definitely help resolve the conflict between the military and the MILF in Basilan.
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