TWO members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group, one of them carrying P5.3-million government reward money for his capture, were arrested Friday which the police said foiled a terrorist plan to bomb the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival, security authorities said.
The two suspects, one of whom was involved in the Sipadan kidnapping 16 years ago, were caught in possession of one-pound trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive and other bomb-making components.
Police said the two suspects will be transported eventually to a court in Pasig City for trial.
The arrest coincided with reports from Davao City that Mayor Sara Duterte has commended the reported arrest of the suspected perpetrator of the deadly Davao explosion on Sept. 2, which left 15 people dead and 69 others wounded.
In a statement, Duterte said the arrest was a “welcome development,” and a step closer to giving justice to the victims of the blast.
Duterte said: “The arrest of the suspected perpetrator of the Sept. 2 bombing in Davao City is a welcome development to the operations of our law enforcers for their immediate capture.
“This development is commendable as we vow to expeditiously give justice to the 15 victims who died and the 69 others who were wounded in the blast.”
In Zamboanga City, Regional Police director, Chief Supt. Billy Beltran, identified the two suspected ASG members as 64-year-old Abdul-latip Talanghati alias Latip Sihata and Tatang, and his son, Albashrie alias Abu Tarik and Tagalog, both residents of Barangay Luuk, Banguingui (formerly Tongkil town) in Sulu.
Beltran said the suspects were arrested by operatives of the Regional Intelligence Division at about 9:30 p.m. Friday while serving an arrest warrant in Barangay Sta. Barbara in Zamboanga City.
Beltran said the father and son have standing warrants of arrest for kidnapping and serious illegal detention issued by a court in Pasig City.
Beltran said the elder Talanghati has a P5.3-million cash reward for his arrest for his involvement in the kidnapping of 21 people— 10 Europeans, nine Malaysians and two Filipinos—on April 23, 2000 in the Sipadan Diving Resort in Malaysia.
The hostages were herded to the deep forest of Sulu and were released in batches several months later in the same year.
Supt. Rogelio Alabata, public information officer of the Police Regional Office 9 (PRO9), said before the suspects were arrested, police received an information the “ASG [was] planning to conduct atrocities in the City of Zamboanga.”
With this available intelligence report, Alabata said Supt. Ferjen Torred and his team worked on it to trace the whereabouts of the unknown suspects.
The intel team later traced the location of the terrorists in Barangay Sta. Barbara, beside the building of the Land Transportation Office.
Torred’s after-operation report shows the terrorists yielded one pound net high explosive TNT, detonating cord and time fuse.
Beltran said police obtained information the suspects were planning to disrupt the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival celebration before their arrest.
The highlight of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival, which started Oct. 1, is the feast day of Our Lady of the Pillar, the most revered saint of Zamboanga City, on Oct. 12.
\The arrest of the suspects came four days after local police operatives arrested three suspected ASG bandits near a pension house in Zamboanga City.
The suspects were caught in possession of a time fuse; two detonating cords; two blasting caps; three fragmentation grenades; a .45-caliber pistol with three magazines of ammunition; two motorcycles; and cellular phone batteries.
Beltran urged the public to continuously support and cooperate with the police by providing timely and relevant information on any wanted person and terrorist who may be hiding in their respective places.
He said they can report the presence of any person acting suspiciously to the nearest police station or to PRO-9 hotline 0917-577-19-97.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday announced the arrest of the unidentified suspect in Davao City’s most popular night market.
But Duterte stressed the job did not end in the arrest because authorities must still dismantle terror groups in the country.
“It is, however, important for us to remember that the arrest must ultimately lead us to the dismantling of terror groups in our midst or result in the failure of more senseless acts of violence and extremism,” Duterte said. With PNA and Pearl Gajunera